LIVE: Knights bristle as Sea Eagle hits Ponga high

Newcastle ran successful 2 tries successful consecutive sets to pinch the lead, but it's Manly taking a buffer into the break.

Anthony Seibold's men pb 14-10 astatine half-time.

The Sea Eagles bargain backmost the pb arsenic Lachlan Croker pounces connected a escaped ball.

Josh Schuster kicks toward the posts precocious successful the archetypal half, and aft the shot spills to ground, Croker swoops and scores.

The Sea Eagles pb 14-10.

The Knights container a 2nd effort successful the pursuing acceptable arsenic Bradman Best hits the scoreboard.

Tyson Gamble splits done the Newcastle defence adjacent the halfway mark, draws Manly fullback Kaeo Weekes and finds Best, who hurtles distant to people successful the 33rd minute.

"They spell bang, bang!" says Nine's Mat Thompson.

"You tin conscionable consciousness it," adds Nine's Phil Gould.

"One (try) volition get you two, possibly three, four."

All of a sudden, the Knights pb 10-8 with 5 minutes remaining successful the archetypal half.

The Knights onslaught arsenic Greg Marzhew bashes over!

The shot is dispersed near and the hulking winger cannot beryllium stopped from adjacent range, barging implicit successful the country to get the Knights connected the board.

"Too big, excessively strong," says Nine caller Mat Thompson.

"I deliberation that volition settee them down," adds Nine's Phil Gould.

"They conscionable needed the archetypal one."

Manly extends its pb to 8-0 done a punishment extremity successful the 18th minute.

Reuben Garrick bangs it implicit aft the Knights are pinged for a drop-out that doesn't spell 10 metres.

Josh Schuster, you star!

The Manly playmaker intercepts a Kalyn Ponga walk and links with Reuben Garrick, who races distant to score.

Nine's Phil Gould marvels astatine Schuster's "rare talent" and likens him to erstwhile NRL prima Feleti Mateo, arsenic good arsenic Bryce Cartwright successful the aboriginal signifier of his first-grade career.

The Sea Eagles pb 6-0 successful the 15th minute.

A spicy infinitesimal arsenic Kalyn Ponga, who's suffered a big of concussions successful his NRL career, is collected precocious by Jason Saab.

The Knights fullback is sandwiched successful a tackle by Haumole Olakau'atu and Saab, with the second creeping up a small excessively precocious and conceding a penalty.

A smattering of Ponga's teammates unreserved successful to amusement enactment for the weapon playmaker, but lone a insignificant scuffle ensues and the Newcastle skipper is not ordered disconnected for a caput wounded assessment.

"Ponga bounced consecutive up and he's not letting them get adjacent to him to look astatine a imaginable HIA," says Nine caller Mat Thompson.

"That's slipped up from astir the neck, thing excessively serious."

The crippled gets underway arsenic Manly kicks disconnected to Newcastle.