Manly ambush finals-bound Knights to snap six-game losing streak

Newcastle’s hopes of earning a home final are in jeopardy after they capitulated to Manly in a shock 44-24 defeat on Old Boys’ Day.

On a chaotic Saturday in Newcastle, the Knights blew an 18-6 lead early to leave themselves potentially needing to beat the Warriors next week to stay sixth.

They also face the prospect of starting the finals without Dom Young, who was sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle that left Sea Eagles star Tolu Koula with a syndesmosis injury.

The result also kept Manly’s faint finals hopes alive, as Kieran Foran’s men snapped a six-game losing streak and showed off the attacking strike that had them firing mid-season.

Albeit remote, the Sea Eagles need to beat St George Illawarra and the Warriors, while also relying on South Sydney or North Queensland going winless for the rest of the year.

Manly will be left wondering where this kind of attacking strike has been for the past two months, after sliding from third to only a mathematical chance of playing finals.

Centre Josh Feledy scored a hat-trick while filling in for Kolu at centre, while Clayton Faulalo impressed in his first game in the No.6 jersey.

Tom Trbojevic also looked dangerous on return, despite being felled a number of times during the match and at one stage being victim to a Tyson Frizzel hip-drop tackle.

The Sea Eagles went after Newcastle’s right edge at will, opening the scoring in the third minute when Lehi Hopoate set Faulalo free.

Manly were then vulnerable themselves down that side while Faulalo was off for a head injury assessment, with Kalyn Ponga, Fletcher Sharpe and Dom Young wreaking havoc as the Knights went 16-6 up.

But the game swung dramatically when Newcastle took a penalty goal to lead 18-6 and Jermaine McEwan coughed up possession on the next set.

From there, Tom Trbojevic sent Caleb Navale over for one try on his return from an ACL rupture, and Feledy scored twice in the space of four minutes with Young in the bin to make it 24-18.

The Sea Eagles ran away with the game in the second half, again attacking the Knights edges.

Newcastle are assured of a top-eight spot, but this was a sobering reminder of the challenge that remains after rising up from last year’s wooden spoon.

Dane Gagai could return from a hamstring injury in time for the finals, but any ban for Young will cause more issues on their right side.