THE Newcastle Knights' trans-Tasman curse has struck again after they were outgunned 20-12 by the Warriors in a gripping arm wrestle at Mount Smart Stadium on Sunday.
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Newcastle have now lost three consecutive games across the "ditch" in the past 13 months - including a semi-final at the same venue last season - and have returned empty-handed after 15 of their past 17 trips to New Zealand.
The result left the Knights 15th on the NRL ladder, after one win from their first four games. But if effort counts for anything, Newcastle are entitled to feel they are not far off turning the corner. They were simply unable to beat a methodical, well-drilled Warriors team at their own grinding game.
The Warriors dominated possession and field position during the early exchanges, but Newcastle fought back to trail 12-6 at half-time.
The home team appeared to have scored in the fourth minute when centre Rocco Berry caught a Shaun Johnson chip kick, but they were denied by the video referee.
There was no such reprieve for Newcastle in the 16th minute, when Warriors back-rower Jackson Ford burst onto a Johnson short ball and scored.
Four minutes later, Warriors hooker Wayde Egan carved Newcastle up through the midfield and sent substitute five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita on an uninterrupted sprint to the line.
Just when it appeared Newcastle were on the ropes, they produced a 36th-minute counter punch to regain some much-needed momentum. Five-eighth Tyson Gamble grubbered in behind the Warriors' defence and veteran back-rower Tyson Frizell showed great skill and strength to gather in the ball and beat a tackle to score.
Newcastle's hopes of hauling the opposition in were dented three minutes after the resumption, when Harris-Tavita produced a cross-field kick and winger Marcelo Montoya leapt above Tom Jenkins to catch it cleanly and score.
Johnson's conversion, followed by a 72nd-minute penalty goal, lifted the home team to a commanding 20-6 lead. But when Kalyn Ponga grubber-kicked in the 74th minute, and centre Bradman Best scored, the Knights gave themselves a brief, belated glimmer of hope.
Newcastle's next assignment is resurgent St George Illawarra at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
The Knights are expected to be boosted by the return of prop Leo Thompson (suspension) and centre Dane Gagai (medical condition).
