‘That scoreline is too big’: Alarm bells ring for Roosters after trial tribulations

In contrast, the Knights gave a glimpse of their potential in a rout that suggested they could cause some surprises last season.

In particular, Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien was delighted with what he saw from fledgling five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe, and also his team’s commitment in defence, especially after their 44-18 loss to Parramatta in their previous trial.

“Take the result out of it,” O’Brien said. “The boys have had a good summer. They’ve trained hard and there’s been a good feel about us.”

Sharpe, who scored 11 tries in 12 games last year in his first full NRL campaign, has been offered first crack at the five-eighth role and is clearly playing for keeps, judging by his two-try haul against the Roosters.

O’Brien faces a tough call regarding who will partner Sharpe at the scrumbase in round one. Tyson Gamble appeared to have the inside running, given he was named in the No.7 jersey to take on the Roosters, but he was a late withdrawal because of a back injury.

His unavailability presented experienced Jack Cogger – a grand final winner with Penrith in 2023 – with a recall and his combination with Sharpe might be enough for O’Brien to lock them in for Newcastle’s season opener against Wests Tigers.

The Knights dominated from the moment Leniu was dispatched to the sin-bin. A minute later, prop Jacob Saifiti crashed over to score between the posts from close range, and five minutes after that Sharpe raced 65 metres to score after the Roosters fumbled in an attacking situation.

A penalty try to Saifiti, after he was impeded in trying to ground a grubber kick, lifted the Knights to an unexpected 18-0 lead. The Roosters pegged that back with a try by veteran winger Daniel Tupou, but tries from Sharpe (27th minute), Jayden Brailey (33rd minute) and skipper Kalyn Ponga (37th minute) gave Newcastle a commanding half-time lead.

The Knights were clearly in no mood to take their foot off the pedal, posting the first try of the second half through bench forward Thomas Cant.

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If Newcastle’s attack seemed a vast improvement on last season – when the only team who scored fewer points were Wests Tigers – their defensive display was just as outstanding.

Several times, desperate goal-line gang tackles prevented the Roosters from grounding the ball over the line, and a long-range intercept try from Newcastle winger Connor Votano in the 73rd minute exemplified the Tricolours’ frustrations.

The Knights are expected to be further boosted for round one by the availability of senior forwards Tyson Frizell (thigh) and Adam Elliott (calf), both of whom were rested from Sunday’s hit-out.

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