Newcastle Knights stun Warriors to reach NRL preliminary final

Stunning upset in Auckland

Newcastle Knights defeated the New Zealand Warriors 12-10 at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday in an NRL finals-week-two match, advancing to a preliminary final against Penrith Panthers next Sunday at Accor Stadium in Sydney.

The match drew a record crowd for a rugby league game in New Zealand — NRL.com reports 48,511 spectators, while Fox Sports cites a crowd of around 49,500.

How the game unfolded

The Warriors took an early lead through a Leka Halasima try, before Fletcher Sharpe leveled the scores just before halftime. Dom Young put the Knights ahead soon after the break, and Newcastle's defence held for the remaining 36 minutes. Halasima crossed for a second try late in the game, but Taine Tuaupiki missed the difficult sideline conversion that would have tied the score, leaving the final result at 12-10.

HIAs and controversial calls

Both teams were affected by head injury assessments late in the match. Knights captain Kalyn Ponga was taken off for an HIA after a heavy hit from Halasima; early reports suggest he passed the test and will be available for the preliminary final. Warriors fullback Taine Tuaupiki and centre Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad were also sent for HIAs, with Nicoll-Klokstad ruled out for the rest of the match.

According to Fox Sports, the win was accompanied by several contentious officiating decisions. In the 71st minute, the Bunker upheld a Knights captain's challenge, ruling that the ball's rotation had changed due to contact from a Warriors player before Bradman Best dropped it. Later, an apparent Ali Leiataua try was disallowed for obstruction, and a dropped ball by Greg Marzhew was instead ruled a strip in the Knights' favour by referee Ashley Klein, a decision upheld by the Bunker. In the final minute, no penalty was awarded for what commentators described as an obvious block by Tyson Frizell on Fletcher Sharpe as he fielded a kick, with the Warriors having no challenges left. As reported by Fox Sports, citing Code Sports, some Warriors supporters threw objects at referee Ashley Klein and match officials as they left the field after the game.

The Knights now turn their attention to next Sunday's preliminary final against Penrith, while the Warriors' season has come to an end.