{"id":907470,"date":"2026-09-27T14:52:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/907470\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T14:52:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:52:19","slug":"nrl-preliminary-finals-2026-panthers-vs-knights-result-video-sandon-smith-quick-tap-intercept-try-video-andrew-johns-matty-johns-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/907470\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL preliminary finals 2026: Panthers vs Knights result, video, Sandon Smith quick tap, intercept try video; Andrew Johns, Matty Johns reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newcastle <\/a>will play in the NRL<\/a> grand final for the first time in 25 years after two epic Sandon Smith tries paved the way for a dramatic win over the Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was an occasion that left two icons of the club, Matty and Andrew Johns<\/a>, in tears as all eyes move to an epic week of hype.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns and Brenton Speed in the commentary box.\u00a0Nine<\/p>\n

Penrith were in the lead at the break despite the absence of their Nathan Cleary<\/a>, who suffered a compound fracture in his ankle in the first half<\/a>, but were stunned in the second half as the Knights claimed a 22-14 triumph<\/a>, despite having a man down due to Phoenix Crossland\u2019s send off for a hip-drop tackle.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s first try, which put his side ahead, came after Penrith conceded a penalty for a high tackle on Fletcher Sharpe and the halfback moved quickly to take the tap, cruising past some would-be defenders and scoring under the posts.<\/p>\n

Smith blasted down the middle and swerved between those who were walking back to get onside, with no player on alert to chase him down. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile everyone was arguing about the penalty, Sandon said \u2018see ya later\u2019 and gone straight down the middle,\u201d Phil Gould said in commentary on Nine. <\/p>\n

As soon as Smith grounded the ball and began celebrating, Panthers players moved to referee Gerard Sutton to argue that a quick tap could not be taken. Gould and Newcastle great Johns shared that same view. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow I thought after foul play you couldn\u2019t take a quick tap?\u201d Gould said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn foul play, I\u2019m sure you aren\u2019t allowed a quick tap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe try has been confirmed. Can the Bunker overrule it now?\u201d Johns asked.<\/p>\n

Nine caller Brenton Speed informed both league greats that Smith had asked referee Sutton if he was OK to play, receiving a head nod to do so. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe saw the opportunity … that is a magic moment,\u201d Gould replied. <\/p>\n

Ivan Cleary admitted post-game that he felt his team had enough time to be ready for that tap, but their efforts just \u201csummed up\u201d where the team\u2019s spirit was.<\/p>\n

To add salt to the wounds of conceding a try, Penrith were then left to adapt to the absence of Blaize Talagi after he went down untouched with an Achilles injury. <\/p>\n

Casey McLean tried to punch his team back in front minutes later, but he was held up over the tryline by some desperate Knights defence.<\/p>\n

Newcastle were put to the test with one minute left on the clock after Francis Manuleleua dropped the ball cold, but last year\u2019s wooden spooners rallied and Smith pinched a perfect intercept to run the field and seal the shock result.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Knights fans react after their team\u2019s victory.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an effort. 12 men,\u201d Johns, who was left speechless, said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction of the players \u2013 I can imagine what it means to people back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like his brother, Matty Johns was brought to tears after seeing his old team win. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unbelievable, I don\u2019t know what to say,\u201d he said, wiping away tears, on Fox League.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am just so happy for all the fans and all the people who have had to put up with a lot of shit for years to get back to where they are now.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing was straightforward today. There was the breakdown on the lines for fans (travelling), cars were backed up on the M1 … but that didn\u2019t stop them. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you run to a field like that and look up to see all those fans, you don\u2019t leave the field defeated. If not for the fans, they don\u2019t win today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharpe, Newcastle\u2019s five-eighth was in disbelief of the result post-game on Nine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it,\u201d he told Nine\u2019s James Bracey and Brad Fittler. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been up against it all year, today was no different, a man down for the whole second half, and I\u2019m just so proud of the group … our region back home, all the fans here, they deserve this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penrith coach Cleary had the upmost respect for his opposition at full time. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to pay full credit to the Knights and their supporters. It is a great day for their club,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will march on.\u201d<\/p>\n

An overjoyed Justin Holbrook expressed his gratitude for the fans who overcame the obstacles thrown their way to make it and cheer on their team on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels unreal. I got emotional after the game just thinking about everything they were able to do. For the players to win a game like that, I couldn\u2019t be happier,\u201d he said during his post-game press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many big efforts and big plays … the boys have handled the big games three weeks in a row. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys have been there all year … the minute we went to Vegas, it was unreal. We\u2019ve never looked back. I just can\u2019t wait to play next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The win means the Knights will face the Sydney Roosters in the grand final next Sunday, opening the door to defy the statistics that you can\u2019t win the competition from outside the top four. <\/p>\n

Either way, history will be created as the Roosters conceded 50 points in a regular season game \u2013 something no NRL premiers have ever faced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newcastle will play in the NRL grand final for the first time in 25 years after two epic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":907471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-907470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}