THE Newcastle Knights lost the game but no admirers after a gutsy 36-20 defeat at the hands of the Dolphins at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
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Decimated by injuries and suspensions, Newcastle's makeshift squad produced a wholehearted effort but were unable to prevent the NRL newcomers from winning their third straight game of this foundation campaign.
It was the second game in a row in which the Knights displayed their new-found resilience, after last week's memorable 14-12 win against Wests Tigers.
The Dolphins opened the scoring in the 10th minute through winger Tesi Niu, who finished with a hat-trick, but each time the visitors edged ahead on the scoreboard, Newcastle rallied to stay in the contest, earning roars of encouragement from a 20,093-strong home crowd.
The sin-binning of Dolphins forward Felise Kaufui in the 68th minute, for a late hit that forced Jackson Hastings off for a head-injury assessment, allowed Newcastle to kick a penalty, reducing their deficit to 26-20. But with only 12 men on the field, the Dolphins responded with two tries by winger Jamayne Isaako to break the home team's hearts.
The Knights went into the game minus co-captains Kalyn Ponga and Jayden Brailey (both concussion), Jacob Saifiti (suspended), Tyson Frizell (ankle), Adam Elliott (groin), Kurt Mann (shoulder), Jack Johns (ankle), Adam Clune (concussion), Simi Sasagi (shoulder) and Krystin Mapapalangi (shoulder).
Their replacements included debutants Ryan Rivett, Dylan Lucas and Thomas Cant.
The Dolphins led 16-12 at half-time but Newcastle made the visitors earn their advantage the hard way.
Knights fullback Lachlan Miller scored tries in the 36th and 46th minutes, the second of which gave his team an unexpected but short-lived lead.
The other tryscorer for Newcastle was five-eighth Tyson Gamble, after catching a Hastings bomb.
The Knights suffered a body blow early in the second half when prop Daniel Saifiti was taken off with a shoulder injury.
