Knights winger Akuila Uate makes a break. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
CAN you send out an ominous warning in round one?
Newcastle could hardly have been more impressive in a clinical demolition of the Wests Tigers at Hunter Stadium.
Coach Wayne Bennett has been talking his side up in the pre-season. Now we know why.
Match Centre: Newcastle v Wests Tigers
With chief play-makers Kurt Gidley, Jarrod Mullen and Darius Boyd all outstanding, the Knights outside backs had a field day against a Tigers outfit which, despite scoring first, never got hot.
Barnstorming winger Akuila Uate scored a hattrick while centre Dane Gagai and James McManus both bagged a double in the carve up.
Uate was at his unstoppable best in another electrifying performance but was aided by some paper-thin Tigers defence at times.
The Knights clearly won the battle of the forward packs with big prop Willie Mason leading the way up front.
Knights winger James McManus dives over to score in the corner. Picture: Gregg Porteous
The only downside for the homeside was a hand injury to Mullen, who left the field late in the second half.
The visitors, who have endured a tough week, clearly have plenty to work on.
The Tigers enjoyed all the early possession and had first points on the board after just six minutes through lock Adam Blair.
And it was all too easy for the visitors.
It came after a Tigers penalty with Benji Marshall finding touch deep in the Knights half.
Two tackles later, Blair strolled through Chris Houston to cross in a handy position for Marshall to convert for a 6-0 lead.
But the joy for the Tigers was short-lived.
Robbie Farah and his Tigers teammates look on after a Knights try. Picture: Gregg Porteous
It took the Knights just five minutes to reply through winger McManus in the corner after Gidley and Boyd had combined on his inside.
The Tigers had cause for complaint though in the lead-up with the Knights granted six more tackles when they shouldn't have been.
From that point on, the half belonged to the Knights as the visitors struggled to plug the gaps in a rapidly leaking defence.
Boyd lost the ball over the line in the 17th minute but the missed chance was rectified soon after by some brilliance from winger Uate.
Uate stormed 60 metres through the heart of the Tigers defence in a dazzling kick return before one ruck later, planting the ball in the corner to finish off the movement he started.
Gidley's sideline conversion gave the Knights a 10-6 advantage.
But there was more to come and it was outstanding young centre Gagai who was in the thick of it.
Gagai scored the first of his two first-half tries in the 27th minute after picking up a bouncing pass from Jarrod Mullen before his second three minutes from the break.
This time, he scooped up a loose pass from Tigers replacement Matt Bell, and raced 40 metres to cross, just having enough in the tank to ward off an attempted tackle from Tigers winger Marika Koroibete.
Gidley's conversion made it 24-6 and it could have been worse for the Tigers had Knights centre Anthony Quinn not been held up over the line in the final seconds of the half.
The carnage continued early in the second half with Uate crossing twice in the opening 10 minutes.
Ironically, the Tigers had an early chance after skipper Robbie Farah punched a rare hole up the Knights middle.
A try looked on the cards when fullback Tim Moltzen loomed up in support but Boyd produced a ball-and-all smother tackle to stop him in his tracks.
Uate stormed over the top of Moltzen and Bell to score his second a minute later and had a hattrick in the 49th minute from dummy half.
It was 40-6 with still a big portion of the second half remaining when McManus got in on the act, leaping high to drag down a Mullen bomb to score his second.
Gidley added a second penalty goal before Tigers fullback Tim Moltzen crossed right in full-time for a consolation try.
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