The Newcastle Knights’ implosion in their 30-point defeat to the Bulldogs was capped off in the final minute by an all-time brain explosion from Jacob Saifiti.
After his brother Daniel limped from the field in the first half and failed to return, Jacob followed him down the tunnel for an early shower after being sin-binned in the dying moments of the Bulldogs boilover for a headbutt on Reed Mahoney.
Mahoney tried to burrow over the tryline from close range but was halted by a pack of Knights. As he got to his feet, there was a push-and-shove as Mahoney exchanged words with Newcastle players.
The referee tried to intervene, saying: “Boys, boys boys. Come on. There is a minute to go. Away we go.”
But Saifiti, who pushed Mahoney before trading words with him, didn’t listen – headbutting Mahoney.
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A stunned Dan Ginnane said in commentary on Fox League: “Oooooh! Jacob, Jacob you can’t do that. You cannot do that! Oh my goodness. One of the most unnecessary actions of the year.”
He added: “Reed Mahoney has got into the minds of the Newcastle Knights and it’s going to cost Jacob Saifiti a sin bin here – and he might have a little worrying to do overnight.”
Cooper Cronk said: “With a minute to go on the clock, Saifiti has let his team down with a bad, bad decision. And the worst thing is what could come of it. It obviously wasn’t a lot of contact but still.”
Mahoney was exceptional in the second half, not only with his work with the ball – bagging two try assists – but in getting into the Knights’ heads with his niggle and gamesmanship.
As the Knights imploded, their frustrations grew with every passing minute – and just a minute before Mahoney drew a headbutt from Saifiti, the Bulldogs star had been flattened in a late hit that earned the Dogs a penalty.
Dan Ginnane said: “He’s got in the heads of the Knights, hasn’t he? He’s won that battle.”
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A disappointed Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien lamented his team’s lack of discipline late in the game, saying: “They were frustrated.”
But he was equally annoyed that his team failed to deal with Mahoney specifically, saying: “It’s not like you don’t know that fella’s going to be involved. He does it every week. We need to be better there.”
Source Agencies
