Newcastle have held on to beat Canterbury 22-10 for their third-straight NRL victory as Mitchell Pearce endured a mixed bag at Suncorp Stadium.
The Knights halfback was everywhere in the first half to set up a 16-0 halftime lead, grubbering twice to himself on the same play before winning the race to the ball for the side’s second try.
He was setting them up for the Bulldogs too, Reimis Smith intercepting his pass and running 95m for the their first points mid-way through the second half.
That play brought the Bulldogs into it for the first time all afternoon and they peppered Newcastle’s line for the next 15 minutes.
A Will Hopoate try made it a six-point game with 20 minutes to play.
They came close twice more but desperate Knights defence stemmed the flow before Kalyn Ponga stepped and weaved in broken play to seal the result.
Dylan Napa narrowly won the battle with Newcastle’s David Klemmer – in his first game against former club – running for 178m while teammate Herman Ese’ese began the second half by charging straight through the defensive line.
Ponga orchestrated the Knights’ first try, staring half Jack Cogger in the eye as he ran to the line before his short pass put Hymel Hunt through a gap just to the left of the uprights.
They stretched the lead to 16-0 on the first-half bell when Lachlan Fitzgibbon – in his 50th NRL game – spun through the line and jagged a try of his own.
The result rooted the Bulldogs (2-7) to the bottom of the ladder while the Knights (4-5) are one win outside the top eight.