In this week's Rookie Report, we take a look at the nib Newcastle Knights pathways teams in the Knock-On-Effect NSW Cup, Jersey Flegg Cup, Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership, SG Ball Cup and Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup.
The men's senior teams took on the Parramatta Eels with the Cup team playing a curtain-raiser before the NRL side at McDonald Jones Stadium while the Flegg team played at Cessnock Sports Ground on Saturday.
The NSW Women's Premiership team opened their 2022 season against the Wentworthville Magpies at Cessnock Sports Ground.
The two Junior Representative teams (SG Ball Cup and Tarsha Gale Cup) travelled down to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium for their respective Preliminary Finals on Saturday and a spot in the big dance.
See how each team fared:
NSW Cup - Knights 8-26 Eels
The NSW Cup side went down by 18 points to the Parramatta Eels on Sunday.
Knights fullback, David Armstrong, earned a call-up from the Jersey Flegg side and opened the scoring on the 4th minute mark.
The Eels hit back quickly before taking the lead 15 minutes into the contest with their second try.
Mathew Komolafe had his second of the afternoon for the Eels three minutes before half-time.
Trailing 14-4 at half-time, the deficit worsened for the Knights when Komolafe scored his third seven minutes after the break.
The Eels put themselves in a commanding position when Jayden Yates scored on the 55th minute mark.
Honeti Tuha scored a late consolation for the Knights but the side would concede defeat.
Along with his try, Tuha had a strong game on the wing running for 142 metres combined with seven tackle breaks.
Hymel Hunt topped the run metres for the Knights with 186 metres.
The Cup side sit in ninth spot on the ladder with two wins and five losses.
Watch the highlights below:
NSW Cup Highlights: Knights v Eels Round 7
Jersey Flegg Cup - Knights 27-20 Eels
The Jersey Flegg Cup side made it three wins on the bounce with a 7-point victory over the Eels on Saturday.
Centre, Harvey Neville, stormed his way to the line to open the Knights account on the 9th minute mark before opposite centre, James Johnson, raced through a hole to score untouched to extend the Knights lead.
The Eels would return serve scoring the next two tries to take a four point lead into the break.
Riley Jones had the Knights back in front after producing a stunning solo try just after the change of ends.
The Eels again hit-back with a four-pointer before the Knights found another gear.
A great short ball from Harry Fraser hit a hard-running Thomas Cant to bring the scores level at 20-all.
Noah Ryan kicked a field goal with three minutes remaining before Jones again found some space in the back field and sent over Kobe Rugless to secure the victory.
The result lifts the Knights up to second spot on the ladder and tied with the first placed Roosters on 10 points.
Watch the highlights below:
Jersey Flegg Cup: Round 7 Highlights
NSW Women's Premiership - Knights 18-12 Magpies
The NSW Women's Premiership side kicked off their season with a 6-point win over Wentworthville on Saturday.
With a number of NRLW players featuring for the side including the returning Caitlan Johnston from injury, the Knights were off to a fast start.
A well-weighted kick from Melanie Howard had Anika Butler diving over in the corner for the first try.
The Magpies were next to score crossing the stripe from close range.
Soon after, a late offload from Tayla Predebon had the Knights moving the ball quickly to an unmarked Butler for her second try.
With three minutes remaining in the half, the Magpies would respond again scoring a similar crash-play try to take a 12-8 lead into the break.
In the second half, Christa-Lee Smith had the Knights level on the 52nd minute mark receiving a cut-out ball from Bobbi Law.
Law summed up the numbers again eight minutes later to send Bree Chester over to give the Knights a dominant lead.
Newcastle will hold onto their six-point advantage to claim their first points of the season.
Watch the highlights below:
Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership: Round 1 Highlights
SG Ball Cup - Knights 6-25 Panthers
The SG Ball Cup side has suffered a heartbreaking 19-point loss to the Panthers in their Preliminary Final on Saturday.
The Panthers scored four tries to the Knights one to knock the red and blue out of the mens Under 19's competition.
Penrith opened the scoring 11 minutes into the game before doubling their advantage on the 24th minute mark.
The Knights replied through five-eighth, Mitch Henderson, who stepped his way to the line to score.
The Panthers converted a field goal to take their lead out to 13-6 just after the break.
Penrith would score another two tries in the second half and kept the Knights to six to march on to the Grand Final.
Newcastle finished their incredible regular season in second spot with the most points scored in the competition and will be proud of their effort in the campaign.
Watch the highlights below:
SG Ball Cup: Semi-Final Highlights
Tarsha Gale Cup - Knights 16-14 Eels
The Tarsha Gale Cup team have advanced to the Grand Final after completing a stirring comeback against the Eels in their Preliminary Final on Saturday.
Down by eight points with 10 minutes remaining, the team stormed home with two tries in as many minutes to earn a spot in the decider.
Two minutes into the game, Mia Middleton had the Knights on the board scoring a runaway intercept try while showcasing her speed.
The Eels were next to score posting their first four-pointer on the 12th minute mark.
Parramatta took the lead with Tahleisha Maeva crossing over with eight minutes to play in the first half.
Leading by two points at the break, the Eels extended their lead shortly after with a crash play close to the line.
Eight points down heading into the final stages, the Knights had to be next to score.
Sophie Clancy burrowed over from dummy-half to provide a spark for the Knights.
With six minutes remaining and trailing by two, quick hands down the right-hand side produced a try for Middleton to cue scenes of jubilation within the Knights ranks.
The Knights held on to their two-point lead to book a spot in the big dance.
The team will take on the Indigenous Academy Roosters in the Grand Final this Saturday, kicking off at 11am at Commbank Stadium, Sydney.
newcastleknights.com.au will provide coverage of the game and live updates on our social media channels.
Watch the highlights below:
Tarsha Gale Cup: Semi-Final Highlights
