There was blood, wet and tears in a weekend of sport in Newcastle on May 4 and 5.
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After a deluge of rain last week, the sun came out on Saturday before the wet weather returned on Sunday.
But, plenty of action was still seen.
Knights double down
It was more gritty than pretty, but the Newcastle Knights overcame torrential rain and the Warriors to post their second consecutive win.
It was a tough day for the 16,094 fans who turned out at McDonald Jones Stadium, many clad in ponchos, but they were rewarded for their undying loyalty with a 14-8 victory as the Knights rolled on in the absence of injured skipper Kalyn Ponga.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien believed Daniel Saifiti had "turned the corner" on an early-season form slump after the representative prop produced a standout performance against the Warriors.
Next up, Wests Tigers.
An absolute screamer
It took Cassidy Davis 128 appearances and 10 seasons to score her first A-League goal.
In her 11th campaign, the Newcastle Jets' unbreakable home-grown captain notched two more.
The first, a stunning, stoppage-time volley from the edge of the 18-yard box, was awarded A-League Women's goal of the year on Saturday night.
The 2023-24 A-League Women's awards were announced at half-time of the grand final in Melbourne, but Davis would have traded the accolade in a heartbreak to be playing for the trophy.
A seven-goal return
Playing his first game of the year, Terrigal Avoca ace Mitchell Price slotted a men's Black Diamond Cup season-best seven goals to help the Panthers open their 2024 account.
Yet to post a win prior to Saturday's round-five match, the Panthers, 22.14 (146), put their nearest rivals The Entrance-Bateau Bay Blues, 6.5 (41), to the sword at Bateau Bay Oval with Price leading the way.
The result moved Terrigal into fifth, above fellow Central Coast side Killarney Vale Bombers, and left the Blues dead last and without a win in three games this year.
A force to be reckoned with
Laura Glendenning conceded it had been a disheartening start to the Newcastle championship netball season for top-four hopefuls Nova Thunder after they sustained their third straight loss.
But the experienced goal attack had no doubts Thunder were heading in the right direction and expected the return of tall goal shooter Brooke Fennings to play a pivotal role as they targeted a finals place.
"[Brooke] played the full game at goal shooter and she was a force to be reckoned with," Glendenning said after Nova lost 55-50 in a see-sawing clash with unbeaten leaders Norths.
"And, she's only gaining more confidence after coming back from a knee injury. She's going to be unstoppable by the end of the year. She was on point, missed maybe one or two goals, and had a fantastic game."
West also stayed unbeaten while Waratah posted their first off the campaign.
Eagles flying higher
The Eagles, who had just two points from the opening five games, rose to 14 points with a 2-0 win over Cooks Hill at Fearnley Dawes Field on Saturday. It was one of just three men's matches played on the rain-affected weekend.
Only one NPL women's matches went ahead over the weekend with Broadmeadow producing the reaction coach Nima Nikfarjam had asked for after two disappointing performances.
After the weekend's wash-outs, some teams are facing a backlog of games with up to three matches now to catch up.
Winning ugly is still winning
Defending Hunter Rugby premiers Maitland edged out Merewether 18-7 at Townson Oval to make it four wins from four games and open a three-point lead at the top of the ladder.
Hamilton hung on in the other game to beat Wanderers 24-17 at Hawkins Oval despite playing the final 15 minutes with 14 men.
In in Hunter Rugby Women, Merewether ended Maitland's unbeaten start to the season with a 26-19 win at Marcellin Park on Friday night and Hamilton thrashed Nelson Bay on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Hunter Wildfires women continued their winning run in Jack Scott Cup by beating Western Sydney 32-0 for a third straight victory as they eyed big guns Sydney Uni next.
In Shute Shield, the Wildfires men dug deep to edge the Two Blues by two points. Coach Scott Coleman lauded Hunter's grit to get the job done but also conceded they needed to smarten up, saying, 'We were courageous but we were dumb as well'.
What else happened
Import Nicole Munger starred as the Newcastle Falcons posted another win in NBL1 East while their male counterparts went down.
Two-time Newcastle Rugby League player of the year Luke Walsh suffered a hamstring injury as Western Suburbs posted back-to-back wins.
In the inaugural Newcastle RL women's tackle fixtures, Central toppled Wests 18-10 at Cessnock Sportsground on Sunday and Raymond Terrace went down to hosts Wyong 22-10 on Saturday.
A lightning quick former Newcastle schoolgirl anchored Australia to an Olympic spot amid a dramatic photo finish at the World Relays Championships in the Bahamas.
After a flying start, the Newcastle Northstars suffered back-to-back losses in a weekend double-header of Australian Ice Hockey League.
