Newcastle cannot contain tri-colours at Hunter Stadium.
Sydney Roosters star Sonny Bill Williams will face a nervous wait after his side’s 28-12 victory over the Newcastle Knights at Hunter Stadium.
The duel-code convert is set to spend some time on the sideline after he was placed on report for a shoulder charge on Knicks prop Willie Mason.
In what was a brutal game from start to finish, two late tries to the Roosters’ through Boyd Cordner and Williams sealed their 14th win of the season.
Cordner was outstanding for the winners along with props Luke O’Donnell and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and hooker Jake Friend while fullback Darius Boyd was close to the Knights best.
Newcastle mounted a serious challenge for 70 minutes but were over-powered in the end by the premiership favourites, who extended their winning run to five matches.
But the big talking point was the hit by Williams on his former teammate at the Canterbury Bulldogs after just 15 minutes.
Mason got up from the hit and looked dazed but managed to rejoin his team until a suspected calf tear ended his afternoon just before half-time.
The game could have turned out differently if the Knights were able to make the most of three sets in a row on the Roosters’ line with the score at 18-10 with 13 minutes left.
However, the Knights conceded they would not break through the Roosters’ rock-solid defence and took the penalty kick to make it 18-12, and from there the away side closed out the win.
Earlier in the game the Roosters led 12-6 at the break and extended their advantage soon after the resumption through Issac Liu and Daniel Mortimer combined to send Sam Moa across.
On the back of plenty of possession the Knights continued to fight away with playmakers Craig Gower, Tyrone Roberts and Darius Boyd having a big say in James McManus scoring to make it 18-10.
But that would be as close as they would get.
The Roosters will look to continue their red-hot form going next weekend when they travel to Sydney’s west to take on the Panthers.
Newcastle slip to eighth spot after the loss and in danger of losing the vital position to the fast-rising New Zealand Warriors.
Wayne Bennett and his men will be out to bounce back to form when they tackle the out of sorts Brisbane Broncos at home in round 21.
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