Quick plays: All you need to know from a weekend of sport in Newcastle on April 1-2, 2023

Departing Knights winger Dominic Young was back in the starting side after a game in NSW Cup and produced a four-try haul to help send the game into golden point.

The towering Englishman, who has been linked to the Sydney Roosters for next season, later declared he was determined to leave Newcastle on a high, saying being dropped "made me realise how much I want to be an NRL player".

Around 24 hours later, it was heartbreak for the Newcastle Jets when they conceded a stoppage-time goal to share the points in a 1-1 draw with a 10-man Melbourne City after leading for 60 minutes at AAMI Park on Sunday.

The Jets moved to 26 points and, although dropping a place to ninth spot in A-League Men, remain two points behind sixth-placed Sydney FC with four games to play.

Their next opponents Brisbane are only three points behind in last spot.

On a wet Saturday afternoon in Sydney, Newcastle's women's team closed a disappointing 2022-23 campaign going down 4-0 to the Sky Blues.

The Jets finished 10^th with 14 points, one ahead of last-placed Wellington while Sydney clinched a third straight premiership.

Charlestown Azzurri's men's and women's teams continued their perfect starts to the NPL Northern NSW season.

The women came from 2-0 down to beat Adamstown 5-2 in wet conditions at Speers Point on Saturday night with striker Emily Diaz producing another five-goal haul.

Azzurri's men then also accounted for Rosebud on Sunday, winning 2-0. Both sides are five points clear of their nearest rivals.

In other women's action on Sunday, Maitland declared their top-four intentions with a big win over competition heavyweights Broadmeadow while Mid Coast posted their first points of the campaign.

The Hunter Wildfires made a statement with a resounding 27-19 triumph over Shute Shield big guns Manly to open their 2023 Shute Shield.

After trailing 19-17 at the break, the Wildfires overhauled their Sydney counterparts with a strong second half.

"We are the out-of-towners and the big wigs in Sydney don't really give us much of a chance," Wildfires coach Scott Coleman said.

"That is the Newcastle way. We will dig in and play for each other. To put in a performance like that on old boys' day was amazing."

Newcastle City have their sights set on defending premiers Killarney Vale and a long-awaited return to a redeveloped No.1 Sportsground in round two after taking a first-up win over Warners Bay in AFL Hunter Central Coast on Saturday.

Killarney Vale, Maitland and Terrigal Avoca were also round-one victors.

In the women's Black Diamond Cup, City, Killarney Vale and Terrigal Avoca opened the season with wins over Warners Bay, Cardiff and Singleton respectively.

South Newcastle opened their account for 2023 in Newcastle Rugby League with a win over Central Newcastle at Townson Oval on Saturday.

Lions coach Andrew Ryan was looking forward to a longer break until their next outing on Easter Monday after the 18-point victory.

Macquarie also posted their first points of the season while Maitland and Wyong maintained perfect starts.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Norths prevailed 4-3 in a tight tussle with Souths in Hunter Coast Premier Hockey League on Sunday. Maitland and Gosford also posted wins in the men's competition.

In Newcastle first-grade women's hockey action, Regals, University and Gosford all triumphed.

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