LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Newcastle has secured a spot in their fourth consecutive NRLW preliminary final after a convincing 34-20 victory over Gold Coast.
Playing before their supporters in Newcastle, the Knights established an 18-0 lead by halftime, benefiting from 63 percent possession and an impressive 93 percent completion rate.
Despite a second-half resurgence from the Titans, who scored four tries, the away team struggled to mount a serious challenge against the Knights until late in the game.
Next week, the Knights will face Brisbane in the preliminary final at Lang Park, aiming to improve upon their earlier match in round eight where they were defeated 46-16 by the Broncos.
"We will need to back up some of the errors with good defence," noted Knights halfback Jesse Southwell. "We made a lot of crucial errors, but the middle pack carried hard and took us forward."
In their previous encounter two weeks ago in round 10, Newcastle defeated Gold Coast 28-22 with Southwell contributing significantly by scoring 16 points through two tries and four goals.
On Saturday, the 20-year-old utilized the wind effectively, sending two high kicks towards Georgia Gray, which resulted in two tries for the Knights due to mishandled receptions.