To add to the Knights woes, fullback Kalyn Ponga carried a sternum injury into the game and was a passenger for much of the contest with rival fullback James Tedesco starring for the Roosters in the 20-point win.

There were fears just prior to kick-off that Ponga could be a late withdrawal after leaving the warm-up early for treatment.

He took his place in the side after a pain-killing injection but it was clear early on he was inconvenienced with his involvement in attack well down.

It didn't stop the Knights from getting off to a good start however.

After Roosters winger Daniel Tupou was denied an early try from a forward pass, the Knights got on the scoreboard first through prop Jacob Saifiti after 14 minutes.

Saifiti took advantage of a great charge from brother Daniel, taking an inside pass from Ponga to score a ruck later after the Roosters defence opened up. Jake Clifford converted for a 6-0 lead.

It was 8-0 after 18 minutes when Clifford slotted a penalty goal from close range and the Knights blew a couple of other opportunities to extend their advantage with the wind at their back in the first 40.

It took a mistake 30 minutes in from winger Dom Young, who was stripped of the ball deep in his own half, for the Roosters to reply. Three tackles later, backrower Sitili Tupouniua crashed over for the Roosters to narrow the gap to 8-4.

The Knights conceded again to surrender their lead with four minutes left in the half after centre Joey Manu scored a converted try following some poor Newcastle defence for a 10-8 advantage.

The second half was all the Roosters despite losing outside backs Billy Smith and Matt Ikuvalu to first half injuries and only having two players left on the bench.

The Knights really struggled to even get out of their own half into the wind with Clifford's woeful kicking game in the second half contributing to a lack of any real opportunities in attack.

The Roosters, who were almost flawless with the footy in the second 40, opened up a 14-8 lead when Tupou scored off a Tedesco pass and it was 18-8 when Lachlan Lam crossed out wide following a Tedesco bust up the middle.

The Knights were then put to sleep by Tupouniua's second try.

The defeat leaves the Knights with a big task ahead to make the finals. It's likely they will have to win all of their remaining six games to be a chance of qualifying.

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