The Roosters outlasted Newcastle 12-8 in a less than aesthetically pleasing affair after the Bunker controversially green-lit Siua Wong’s late match-winning try.
The Bunker confirmed Gerard Sutton’s on-field decision of try despite Wong appearing to have knocked on before grounding the greasy ball as rain tumbled down at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Both sides were missing plenty of star power due to injury and State of Origin commitments, and it was hardly a great advertisement for rugby league with errors mounting and such a controversial call ultimately deciding the contest.
They may not have been specifically directed at their own players, but for the second week in a row boos rung out from the Newcastle faithful with pressure building on coach Adam O’Brien.
In Townsville, Jack Bostock scored four tries as the Dolphins climbed to sixth after humbling the Tom Dearden-less North Queensland 58-4.
The Cowboys slide down the ladder to tenth after back-to-back defeats, conceding an average of 48 points across the two heavy losses.
Pressure mounting on O’Brien after Knights throw away late lead
Coming into Round 15 the Roosters were 16th in the NRL for completion rate, and it was business as usual in the first half as Trent Robinson’s side continually shot themselves in the foot. For all their possession in attacking territory, however, the Knights’ only four-pointer of the first 40 minutes, came against a scrambling defensive line after Jack Cogger sprung Dylan Lucas through a gaping hole.
After 60 minutes the Tricolours would eventually hit back as Salesi Foketi crossed the stripe and soon hit the lead through Siua Wong.
The back rower appeared to have knocked on in the greasy conditions before forcing the ball down with his forearm but the Bunker upheld the on-field decision of try, satisfied Wong had legally scored.
O’Brien would not be drawn to comment on the call.
“I’m going to show real self control this week,” he said, after apologising for comments about booing in the golden point win over Manly.
Knights stalwart Dane Gagai said the call was “a tough one to swallow”.
“They said there was no separation but I’ve never seen someone control the ball with their forearm before,” Gagai said.
“But in saying that, we had our opportunities to win the game.”
Desperate Newcastle fifth-tackle options in the dying stages failed to come to fruition and after leading for the vast majority of the 80 minutes, O’Brien’s side slumped to their ninth loss of the season with an unlikely finals berth in 2025 slipping further from their grasp.
Backline reshuffle sees forgotten playmaker recalled
Already missing main man Kalyn Ponga on Origin duty, an injury to Fletcher Sharpe midweek meant O’Brien was forced into recalling exiled playmaker Jackson Hastings to partner Jack Cogger in the halves. Reportedly earning a tidy $800,000 to play reserve grade, Hastings put in a solid shift at five-eighth but showed understandable signs of rust in his first NRL appearance since 2024.
The official line was that Hastings has been out of favour due to form but that’s a hard justification to swallow, given the Knights’ insipid attack so far in 2025.
As some outlets reported, it would not exactly be a huge surprise that the real reason was more related to the interpersonal, as the talented but terse Hastings has got plenty of teammates and staff members offside throughout his career.
Time will tell whether the 29-year-old holds onto his spot when Newcastle’s stars return but surely he should be at least handed a chance to find his best form unless whatever dressing room drama is swirling just cannot be resolved.
Young signs off with win as Newcastle return looms
English winger Dominic Young played his final match for the Tricolours on Saturday, reportedly set to make the immediate switch back to the Knights in a quirky mid-season transfer. He was initially brought to the NRL by Newcastle before making the move down the M1.
The transfer makes sense for Young as he has struggled to hold on to his spot, spending some time in reserve grade earlier this season.
Found out defensively at times in his 18-month stint at the Roosters and having fallen down the pecking order at Bondi due to the emergence of rugby convert Mark Nawaqanitawase and young gun Robert Toia, Young nonetheless will add some potency to a Knights backline that has failed to fire for much of 2025 with Ponga’s struggles at the heart of the problem.
Kalyn Ponga. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
The added salary cap room for the next two NRL seasons will potentially aid in the Roosters’ mooted acquisition of axed Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, with Brandon Smith’s significant salary for 2026 already shed after the polarising rake switched to local rivals South Sydney.
Brittle defence costs Cowboys
Conceding three tries in the first 22 minutes, including one with the man advantage with Dolphins enforcer Felise Kaufusi in the sin bin, was not the response Todd Payten was looking for after last week’s heavy defeat at the hands of premiership favourites Melbourne.
It has been a stop-start campaign in Townsville and seemingly for every forward step taken, North Queensland take one or more in the wrong direction not long after. Their brittle resolve was on show again as the Dolphins attack took advantage of some poor defence to open up a 16-point lead before the Cowboys knew what hit them.
Murray Taulagi got his side on the board but a spirit breaking Kurt Donoghoe try just before half-time was always going to be too much to overcome as the Cowboys slip to tenth in the congested middle section of the NRL ladder.
Katoa can lead Phins to historic finals berth
Laurie Daley is already spoiled for choice when it comes to the Blues playmaking stocks but if Dolphins No.7 Isaiya Katoa continues at his current trajectory he could rise up the pecking order in short order. In the meantime, first-time NRL head coach Kristian Woolf can enjoy the services of Katoa week to week as he aims to break the Dolphins’ finals duck in their third season in the top grade.
The Dolphins rise to sixth after tonight’s win, continuing a strong run of form that followed the poor start to Woolf’s tenure. Jack Bostock grabbed four tries, Kodi Nikorima had a try and two assists and Herbie Farnworth set up two four-pointers.
The top four sides have pulled away from the pack somewhat but the two clubs immediately ahead of the Dolphins – Brisbane and Cronulla – have had their own well-documented struggles and are certainly catchable if Woolf’s team can put together an even more consistent back half of 2025.
The Kick: Fortunate Chooks hang on but must clean up ill-discipline
With five players out on Origin duty and the luckless Sam Walker suffering a broken thumb midweek, it was not a good week for Robinson’s side to come out flat. Making error after error in an ugly first-half display, with respect to Newcastle, a better attacking team would surely have got out to a bigger half-time advantage over the Roosters than the six point-lead the Knights managed.
A lot of sides would have put the Roosters to the sword and a healthy dollop of luck was involved as they head south down the freeway with the two competition points.
Walker’s latest setback will only make staying in finals contention more difficult and the Roosters were always going to find it challenging to finish in the top eight after losing plenty of talent and experience at the conclusion of 2024.
The silky playmaker should return for the home stretch of the campaign but unless the Tricolours can clean up their act, they will be easy fodder for any other finals side, if they even manage to make it that far.
with AAP
