Newcastle are through to their first grand final in 25 years after holding on to beat Penrith 22-14 with 12 men, after Panther superstar Nathan Cleary sufffered an ankle fracture in a hip-drop tackle.
On an afternoon of high drama at Accor Stadium, Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland was sent off for the tackle that left Cleary with a compound fracture and dislocation of the ankle late in the first half.
Newcastle then fell 14-6 down at halftime, before managing to pull off one of the most unlikely comebacks in recent memory while down a man in the second half.
The win sets up a grand-final date with the Sydney Roosters next Sunday, and makes Newcastle, last year’s wooden spooners, the first team to reach a decider from outside the top four since 2017.
So much of the build up to Sunday’s preliminary final had been about Cleary and the stress-related bone issues in his right foot, which eventually kept him on the bench for the first 25 minutes.
But the two-time Clive Churchill Medal winner lasted just 10 minutes before being brought down by Crossland, with the air going out of Accor Stadium.
Newcastle are through to their first grand final after Penrith’s Nathan Cleary was injured
Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary was stretchered off the NRL preliminary final against Newcastle
Penrith medical staff were required to hold Cleary’s foot in place as he left the ground on a medicab, with the halfback taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Even with Cleary off and Blaize Talagi hurt late, Penrith had enough ball to win the match comfortably.
Jack Cogger set up their first try starting in place of Cleary when he grubber-kicked early for Talagi, while Lindsay Smith also forced his way over for a try before halftime.
But Newcastle have routinely been a team that can score from anywhere in this finals series, and both of their first two tries again came from within their own end.
Bradman Best burst through Talagi to send Francis Manueleua over for the first try of the game.
The Knights got back into the game early in the second half when Sandon Smith ran it on the last and Dane Gagai and Manuleleua combined to send Dom Young over.
Smith then produced a moment of smarts to give the Knights the lead with 20 minutes to play, when cleared to take a quick tap after a Billy Phillips high tackle.
With the Panthers yet to reset their defensive line, Smith ran 50 metres to score and make it 16-14 as Penrith players protested whether the tap should have been taken.
Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland was sent off for the hip-drop tackle which left Cleary (above) injured
Cleary (above) was stretchered off on a medicab after being injured in the 36th minute
Matt Croker produced one play to dive on a kick with Kalyn Ponga out of position, and Ponga himself had a bone-rattling hit late on Moses Leota with Penrith on attack.
And then with Penrith attacking and a minute to play, Smith was again the hero as he intercepted a Liam Martin pass and sprinted 80 metres to score.
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