The Newcastle Knights almost pulled off a huge win but could not hold on in a 24-20 loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
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Historic moment for Newcastle netball
Newcastle's first ever men's netball team finished fifth in the male championship division of the NSW senior titles hosted by Maitland over the long weekend.
Newcastle's open championship side were leading by the smallest of margins - on goal percentages - heading into their final day on Monday.
Leaving it until late in Australia Cup
Broadmeadow and Maitland cruised into the region's final four in the Australia Cup but fellow NPL sides Newcastle Olympic and Edgeworth left it late to book their spots on Saturday.
In NPLW Northern NSW action at Alder Park on Sunday, Olympic joined Broadmeadow atop the standings with a 2-1 win over New Lambton in a result that left the sixth-placed Eagles' task of securing a finals spot seemingly harder.
Magic have the chance to seize the outright lead again when they host Maitland on Monday night.
Scorpions suffer second successive loss
Cessnock edged into second spot despite Central rallying late for a 26-all draw at Cessnock Sportsground. Lakes beat the Bulldogs and Souths cruised to a sixth straight victory, accounting for Northern Hawks.
What else happened
Newcastle Northstars recruit Wehebe Darge made a stunning return from a month-long injury lay-off to score three goals across two matches as the Novocastrians extended their Australian Ice Hockey League winning streak to seven.
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