Newcastle Knights open NRLW title defence with 16-point win over St George Illawarra: Round 1, 2023

The first-round victory in an expanded nine-round competition was set up with a dominant first-half display into the wind with the hosts ahead 18-6 by half-time.

But Newcastle, who had 10 returning players and seven new faces in their squad against the Dragons, have plenty of work to do as they look to the Cowboys in round two after a much closer second half.

Fullback Tamika Upton, last year's player of a 32-12 grand final win over Parramatta, picked up where she left off with some crucial tackles early in the exchange before Newcastle piled on the pressure to score three unanswered tries.

Forward Tayla Predebon barged over from close range for the first try in the 11^th minute then halfback Jesse Southwell converted for a 6-0 lead.

The 22-year-old powerhouse was however forced from the field with what appeared to be a dislocated finger in the 16^th minute and did not return until the second half.

Second-rower Yasmin Clydsdale crossed in the 17^th minute after running onto a killer pass from Upton in space between two Dragons players and Southwell again added the extra two points for a 12-0 advantage.

The second try came after forced pressure from Newcastle, who played almost mistake-free football in the first period.

Lock Laishon Albert-Jones and prop Rima Butler also found themselves in the casualty ward after a head clash in the 18^th minute.

Albert-Jones was ruled out of the game with a category one head knock while Butler was cleared to return in the second half.

Southwell slipped a neat inside pass for interchange prop Kayla Romanuik to score on a repeat set in the 27^th minute before converting the try for an 18-0 lead.

The Knights defended strongly but the Dragons finally broke through with two minutes remaining in the first half, although the grounding of Teagan Berry's try after back-to-back penalties was controversial. The St George Illawarra fullback appeared to fumble the ball before grounding it.

The Dragons came out strong in the second half but could find no reward for their efforts before the Knights added two more tries in the 44^th and 56^th minutes through new recruits Jasmin Strange and Abigail Roache.

Five-eighth Caitlin Moran crafted both, the first with a floating cut-out pass to the left wing, the second a grubber kick into the left corner of the in-goal area.

But the Knights' 26-6 lead was short-lived with the Dragons scoring twice in three minutes to close the gap to a less comfortable 26-16.

Berry (61^st minute) scored with a length-of-the-field effort after picking up a misdirected Knights kick then five-eighth Tyla Nathan-Wong (64th) found the try line a little too easily from close range.

But Southwell sealed the win in the 68^th minute when she stepped right, then left to score then booted the conversion for an effort of four successful kicks from six attempts.

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