The Knights may be 2-0 after a thumping win over Manly, but it’s hard for their fans to celebrate too hard given they will be without $2.7m of their salary cap next week with superstars Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown both going off injured.
The 36-16 victory at 4 Pines Park continued Justin Holbrook’s dream start at the helm after they claimed the wooden spoon last season, but the coach will be praying for a positive result after his two best players suffered leg injuries.
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Ponga (right hamstring) and Brown (left knee) both went down in a frantic first half that saw the visitors race out to a 30-10 lead, with the key spine players coming up with big attacking plays that led directly to their injuries.
Ponga was the first to go down when the superstar fullback backed up a Bradman Best break to score and immediately clutched his right hamstring as he grounded the ball.
Huge blow for Knights: Ponga & Brown out | 01:49
The superstar fullback didn’t take the conversion and spent some time with the physio and was cleared to stay on the field, but he lasted just a few more plays with the former Dally M winner grabbing it again after he passed the ball.
Ponga came straight from the field and was replaced by Fletcher Hunt, with the Knights already missing Fletcher Sharpe who suffered a knee injury in Las Vegas but is expected back next week and would be the obvious replacement.
“(It was) a bit of an overstride when I sort of made that line break. I’ll get scans and go from there and see what it is,” Ponga said after the game.
“I think the positive thing was the boys that came on did a great job and got on with it. It’s not ideal to get two playmakers going down, but the boys that did a job for us, (they were) massive.
“The last time I did a hammy was 2018. So I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I’ll get scans and go from there. And obviously, fingers crossed it’s best news. I want to be back out there next week, but we’ll see.”
Brown didn’t last much longer with the major off-season recruit suffering a medial injury as he made a bust to set up Hunt for a try in the first half.
He stayed on until half-time but was in clear discomfort before the decision was made for him not to return, with Brown likely to miss at least a month.
MANLY’S KNIGHTMARE
The Sea Eagles narrowly went down in golden point last week, but this was a horror show at home in a game that used to be an automatic two points on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Brooky.
The crowd fell silent from the opening kick-off when Luke Brooks let it bounce dead in-goal, with Newcastle scoring through Greg Marzhew from the ensuing set.
Manly scored a couple of tries but that was as good as it got as they capitulated defensively against a team that scored the fewest points in 2025.
Simple tackles were missed at an alarming rate, while the usually reliable Tom Trbojevic put down a kick that led to a Tyson Frizell four-pointer.
There are really concerning signs for a team that looked slow and had no punch through the middle, with the round three bye coming at the perfect time for them to regroup
after their fans booed them and left early on Sunday.
NEW ERA
The Knights won just six games, scored 338 points and sacked their coach last year, but the arrival of Justin Holbrook has seemingly fixed everything.
Their attack is free flowing, they have found ways to handle adversity and they’re unbeaten through two rounds heading into a big game at home against the Warriors.
It’s amazing what a few changes can do, but the big test is coming to see how they will perform without their marquee men.
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