Newcastle fans had plenty to celebrate after the Knights broke a three-match losing run to beat Parramatta in a thrilling exchange at a packed McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night.
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Now, can they back it up?
English import Will Pryce made a stunning NRL debut and Knights coach Adam O'Brien is confident the 21-year-old utility back will keep improving.
Griffiths led Newcastle to back-to-back NRLW premierships before moving across to the Cup role.
Gap opens up in Newcastle RL
Newcastle Rugby League's top-five sides are kicking away from the rest of the pack after some of the competition's front-runners continued their winning ways over the weekend.
Four sides in the top five - Maitland, Souths, The Entrance and Central - recorded victories in round 11, on a weekend when the conditions could hardly have been more different between days.
In the Newcastle women's premiership, Souths beat Raymond Terrace 18-10 on Saturday.
Casualties mount for Wildfires
The injuries kept coming for the Hunter Wildfires, whose depth is being more than tested this Shute Shield campaign.
Halfback Nick Murray was the latest to joining the casualty ward, damaging his ankle in the first minute of the Wildfires' 62-26 loss to Western Sydney at Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.
The loss left them languishing in 10th place, 15 points adrift of the top six.
The Wildfires women had the bye but are still well in the finals hunt in third place of their competition.
In Hunter Rugby Union, it was a drawn-out affair between Merewether and Hamilton despite the Hawks being reduced to 13 players for the final 30 minutes.
Maitland and Wanderers also posted wins.
In Hunter Rugby Womens on Saturday, Hamilton beat the Greens 24-10, Wanderers defeated Southern Beaches 28-0, Maitland downed University 36-5 and Nelson Bay were 19-0 winners over Cooks Hill.
A familiar face returns for West
West Leagues Balance coach Tracey Baggs was cherishing an important win and a key return with experienced centre Sophie Dunning (nee Buckley) back as Newcastle championship netball teams prepared for a new challenge.
The five-time defending champions beat Junction Stella 64-42 at National Park on Saturday to move two points clear of their round-10 opponents and top-four rivals.
Souths, Norths and Waratah also posted wins while Nova lost again and will be out to bank maximum points in upcoming half-games being played back-to-back on Friday, July 12. The matches are washed-out fixtures from rounds four and five.
Magic's premiership hopes take hit
Broadmeadow coach Nima Nikfarjam has not written off Magic's NPLW Northern NSW premiership hopes but knows they have a mountain to climb after losing to Maitland on Saturday for their second successive defeat.
The defending premiers and champions face an important third-versus-fourth showdown with Charlestown this weekend.
In NPLM, Lambton Jaffas are bracing for a title test against Magic this weekend after scrambling to stretch their unbeaten NPL run to 27 games on Saturday.
What else happened?
Sam Mudford scored in the last 30 seconds to give Wests an unexpected draw with leaders Gosford 3-3 on Sunday in the Hunter Coast Premier Hockey League.
In the Newcastle women's premier league on Saturday, Oxfords remained perfect in their premiership defence with a 3-0 win over Gosford.
Jaidyn Goodwin produced two huge plays to secure the Falcons a 78-76 triumph over Hills District at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Saturday night while their women counterparts cruised to victory in NBL1 East.
Renee Valentine
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
