Live: Storm thrashing fallout worsens with halfback ruled out of next clash

Right winger Paul Alamoti makes a break down the right flank.

After a quick play-the-ball, the ball goes to Nathan Cleary who runs, dummies, and slices through.

Cleary is on the ground in the in-goal, but does not ground the ball.

Every Knights player stops, so Cleary stands up and runs under the posts to ground the footy there.

Newcastle fullback Fletcher Sharpe had turned his back. Cleary brushed his shoulder, running past him to ground the footy under the posts.

That is not a good look.

Knights 0

Panthers 24

Nothing is going right for the Newcastle Knights.

Centre Fletcher Hunt charges down a kick from Nathan Cleary, then sprints to dive on the loose ball.

Hunt gathers the footy, just inside the field of play, but Cleary then hits him and drives him over the sideline.

Knights 0

Panthers 18

Newcastle Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland was in the hands of a trainer.

He appeared to be struggling to raise his arms above his head.

Crossland stays out there.

Dylan Edwards has picked up a loose ball and run 60 metres to score his second try.

Newcastle had the ball at midfield, and received a six-again restart. This was Newcastle’s best field position in the match.

The Knights shifted to the right and Fletcher Hunt almost made a line break, but the right centre was tripped up.

Hunt then dropped the ball on the ground, and Edwards picked it up and ran all the way to the goal-line.

Knights 0

Panthers 12

I feel for the fans at Hunter Stadium who are sitting at the end of the field where Newcastle is running too — there has not been a player within 70 metres of them for 10 minutes.

Poor Fletcher Sharpe has dropped a bomb kick, and the Panthers have a fourth attacking set at the Newcastle goal-line.

But the Knights, once again, hold firm.

They must be sapped of energy.

The Knights have put themselves under all sorts of pressure.

After failing to get out of their own half for three consecutive sets, the home side were asked to defend their line again.

A pair of six-again restarts gave Penrith about 12 consecutive attacking plays.

But the Knights, once again, hold firm.

Penrith winger Thomas Jenkins went close to scoring, but the Penrith try-scoring machine is held up by about five defenders.

For the third consecutive time, the Newcastle Knights have turned the ball over inside their own half.

This time, it is a forward pass from Sandon Smith.

Poor Fletcher Sharpe is not enjoying the start of this match.

He takes a run from inside his own half, but he is wrapped up by three Panthers players who carry him to the sideline.

Sharpe either went into touch, or knocked on trying to pass the ball back in-field.

Either way, it is a second error from the Newcastle fullback that has given Penrith a scoring chance.

Penrith has a good set and a grubber kick to the in-goal forces a dropout.

But Newcastle successfully regathers the short dropout to withstand another Panthers raid.

It’s an unfortunate mistake by Newcastle’s fullback Fletcher Sharpe.

There was a high kick from Penrith going close to the sideline.

Sharpe ran over to the ball, but let it bounce. He may have thought it was going out on the full.

But the ball bounced and hit Sharpe, then went into touch.

The Panthers have a full set at the Knights’ goal-line, but the Knights defend well.

Dean Young has backed Kade Reed to remain St George Illawarra’s halfback even after the Dragons slumped to a 62-16 thrashing in the 20-year-old’s highly anticipated NRL debut.

Young’s first call as interim coach was to hand Reed his debut in the traditional Anzac Day clash against the Sydney Roosters, played only days after the Dragons sacked predecessor Shane Flanagan.

After the loss, Young declared Reed would be the starting number seven for the Red V when they next played.

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Hello Australia.

Welcome back to ABC Sport’s live digital coverage of the 2026 NRL premiership season.

Anzac Round concludes this afternoon with the two contests:

• Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers — Hunter Stadium, Newcastle, 2pm AEST
• Manly Warringah Sea Eagles vs Parramatta Eels — Brookvale Oval, Sydney, 4:05pm AEST

Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts on all things rugby league in the comment section.