Atkinson field goal all but ends Knights’ finals hopes

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Atkinson field goal all but ends Knights’ finals hopes

Daniel Atkinson has kicked a golden-point field goal to seal Cronulla’s 19-18 defeat of a gallant Newcastle that all but ends the Knights’ NRL finals hopes.

In regulation time, the Knights and Sharks were each denied game-winning field goals for placing ******** blockers in the other sides’ defence, with Kalyn Ponga and Atkinson’s celebrations both in vain.

After Newcastle’s Phoenix Crossland missed a field goal at the other end, the Knights raced deep into the Sharks’ half through winger Sione Katoa.

There, Atkinson slotted the match-winner from 20 metres out with 30 seconds remaining in the first ******* of extra time on Sunday afternoon.

The win keeps an error-prone Cronulla a win inside the top four and means the Knights are now unable to finish the season with a winning record – usually the benchmark for a top-eight finish.

Newcastle could still sneak into the post-season, but it would require a multitude of results falling their way, and likely also a significant improvement in their inferior for-and-against (-90).

Without injured halves Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes, the Sharks struggled for attacking polish after rushing out to a 10-0 lead against a violent Cronulla breeze.

In total, Cronulla made 17 errors on Sunday afternoon.

Playing for their season, Newcastle threatened to clear the biggest hurdle on the road to a fairytale finals berth when they took an 18-10 lead after being reduced to 12 men.

The Knights’ defence was especially stoic once Crossland returned from the sin bin for his professional foul, incurred for holding Jesse Ramien too long as Newcastle defended their line on the ******* of half-time.

Cronulla finally overcame their knack for dropping the ball in attacking territory when left winger Ronaldo Mulitalo crossed on an overlap in his first game back from a knee injury.

With seven minutes to play, Atkinson nailed the sideline conversion that sent the game into golden point.

But he saved his most important strike for later.

The match-winner caps a remarkable season for Atkinson, who had played one NRL game from the bench in 2022 prior to firming as a reliable first-grader at the injury-hit Sharks this season.

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