It’s all over. 40-zip. Read Robert Dillon’s full match report here.
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Nathan Cleary gets himself a try, and likely a conversion right behind it.
38-0 before the kick. 40-0 after it.
Upsides for Knights fans are getting harder to find, but here’s one: there’s less than five to go.
Well. Doesn’t that just sum it up? Nathan Ross picks up a kick in the in-goal, pins his hears back and makes it 75 metres before Te Maire Martin pulls him down.
He plays the ball, but nobody's followed his heart-pumping run.
Martin nabs the ball back from marker, and the Knights get to make more tackles.
Somebody just scored a try. I bet you can guess which team it was.
Dean Whare’s the man in black crossing the white stripe this time.
Nathan Cleary misses with the boot and it’s 34-0 after 61 minutes.
Oof. A double blow for the Knights.
Peter Mata’utia dashed back to save a long kick going dead, then plays the ball before his legs are released. The call is a knock-on and the Panthers surge forward, ultimately towards Peter Wallace’s 53rd minute try.
28-0, kick to come. Oh, there it goes - we're out to 30-0.
That hit comes minutes after the Knights are denied a Ken Sio Try in the 50th minute after the assist is ruled to have floated forward.
It’s not Sio’s night, despite his best efforts.
The Panthers have already widened the gap this half after Cleary kicked slotted a penalty goal to make up for the early conversion miss. It went to 24-0 after 44 minutes.
Jacob Saifiti also has the all-clear to return, a bright spot for the Knights.
HALF-TIME: Not much to celebrate for Newcastle.
The Knights made metres but couldn’t convert field position into points. The Panthers never slowed down in attack, slicing through Knights defenders and threatening to blow out the score while maintaining their clean sheet.
Hopefully the fight-back is on for the second half.
A jinking run from Watene-Zelezniak puts Peter Wallace within 10 metres of the tryline. Penrith appear to lose it on the following play, but it’s a penalty against the Knights. Still 22-0.
The visitors cannot catch a break at Pepper Stadium. 34 minutes gone.
Levi drags Moylan down as he races for the line, then Peter Wallace loses it trying to burrow over from the play-the-ball.
Scrum, and something of a let-off for the scoreless and breathless Knights. Dane Gagai starts making some metres and the Knights have a bit of possession back.
Moving into the 39th minute, the Knights win a penalty 10 metres out from the line. Danny Levi pushes across the line but he’s held up.
The ball is coughed up on the next play, and the Knights are back into defence.
Te Maire Martin’s over for the Panthers’ third try in under 26 minutes. The Knights remain scoreless. He dummies from first receiver and strolls over the line.
16-0 after the conversion.
Play is halted, with the Panthers attacking at the start of a new set of six. Saifiti is down after a heavy collision with interchange forward Sitaleki Akauola.
The Knights enforcer heads to the sideline for a concussion test, and Penrith’s back on the attack until Nathan Ross bats a Te Maire Martin grubber kick dead.
It only delays Penrith’s fourth try, which comes on the left side as Tyrone Peachey ducks over near the sideline around Ken Sio. 22-0.
It feels like a long time since that intercept by the Knights winger on this same edge. There’s 33 minutes gone, and the commentary is already moving onto the upcoming Brisbane-Canberra clash.
Panthers on the attack – a penalty and quick tap gives them the momentum, and they plant it over the line early on. It’s second-rower Corey Harawira-Naera, nabbing a four-pointer on debut to make it 8-0.
Cleary quickly makes it 10-0.
Back to the Knights, though.
Some changes: Joe Wardle comes on for Luke Yates 24 minutes in. They’ve also swapped Jack Stockwell for Josh Starling and switched Saifiti, bringing on Jacob for brother Daniel.
Here’s a bit more clarity about that no-try to Nathan Ross.
KEN SIO!
The big Knights winger nearly goes the distance after intercepting a Matt Moylan cut-out pass. He’s ultimately dragged down by one of many chasers, but manages to wrong-foot Trent Merrin and nearly clearing out the defence.
Brock Lamb pops through a grubber after Peter Mata’utia and Trent Hodkinson make their attempts to ground it on the left side, and the Knights win a drop-out.
It comes to little. Panthers back on the advance with 16 minutes gone.
Nathan Ross denied a try after a knock-on. Knights receive the drop-out, pushing back into Panthers territory with almost 13 minutes gone, but spill the ball for an easy Matt Moylan collect.
A few narrow misses for the Knights, with a Brock Lamb grubber caught under a defender’s foot and ultimately shovelled over the sideline to deny them a scoring chance moments beforehand.
A third attempt was scuppered after Watene-Zelezniak caught the ball ahead of an open line in the tenth minute with one foot planted on the sideline.
Less than eight minutes gone, the Knights had already conceded two penalties. As a result, they spent a lot of time defending from their own goal line early.
It didn’t take long for first points – Dallin Watene-Zelezniak pops over in the corner to make it 4-0 after four minutes.
Nathan Cleary hooks the conversion, his second miss of the year.
The Penrith winger threatened again moments later, leaping high over Nathan Ross for a take, but was unable to find a recipient for a flicked offload.
They’re underway. To recap – Bryce Cartwright’s out, Joe Wardle’s in from the bench.
Peter Mata’utia slides from centre to the back, Sione Mata’utia moves into the centres and Luke Yates gives up his seat on the bench to Wardle, moving into the starting second-row instead.
JOE Wardle will make his NRL debut after the Knights adjusted their squad shortly before kick-off on Friday.
The Englishman slots onto the bench of a rejigged side that will line Peter Mata’utia up at fullback.
His brother Sione moves from the second row to the centres, with Luke Yates replacing him in the engine room.
The Knights seek their second win against Penrith from 6pm on Friday.
Follow here for live updates, photos, a half-time wrap and a Robert Dillon match report at full-time.
