Live: Stunning Newcastle start has Panthers on back foot in Bathurst

That’s the right call, and a bad one from Liam Henry.

He picked up Fletcher Sharpe in the tackle and then really pushed down on his neck.

Not a good look and he is rightly binned for it.

Another great chance for the Knights.

A good call.

Fletcher Hunt was clearly impeded by Paul Alamoti after Brad Schneider put up a very inviting kick.

The Panthers just need one of these to go their way.

Brilliant from the Panthers wing!

He might not have scored a try at the other end, but he’s probably saved one there, just getting in the way of the ball and then taking off up field.

Blaize Talagi has a go too and almost breaks through as the Knights defence is scattered.

There’s a crusher tackle that’s been called there, with Phoenix Crossland the player who has been crushed.

Another opportunity for the Knights.

The Panthers move the ball to the left, Tom Jenkins dives for the line and despite the pressure of Dane Gagai, manages to stretch himself, stay in play and get the ball down.

But did he get it down?

The play has done up as a no try and the replay shows that he’s dropped it over the line.

Unlucky there, it was a great effort.

Brodie Jones was inside the 10 and the Panthers needed that desperately.

The Knights have had it all their own way so far but now they’re going to have to defend.

The Knights are rampaging over the Panthers!

Brilliant, simple, effective hard running through the middle from the kick off.

A six again call on half way gives them another chance to move forwards and the hard running just kept on!

Dylan Lucas saw Brad Schneider in the line and ran over him, a brutal display of power running.

Too easy.

The kick is good, 18-0.

Dylan Lucas on the crash ball!

That’s a superb finish!

Belinda Sharpe is sending this up as a no try though, looking at a double movement…

Oh no, that’s not a double movement, just superb strength from the second row.

It was a great, flat pass from Tyson Gamble and the Knights are on the charge!

The kick is good and it’s 12-0!

Interesting, Blaize Talagi was off and running after fielding a high bomb but there were players in front of him and they were acting as blockers.

That’s a really sloppy penalty and a really good position for them to start their attack.

Out of nothing really!

The Knights fullback picked up the ball in midfield and then there was a half-break from Dylan Lucas that put the Knights on the front foot.

The Knights recycled and Fletcher Sharpe, with the ubiquitous fullback mullet flying behind him, raced into a gap and then muscled his way through three very haphazard tackles from the Panthers defence.

A great start for the Knights and nicely done by Sharpe.

The kick is good and it’s 6-0.

Not a huge amount of enterprise shown by either side as of yet.

It’s one-out hit up running.

Nerves from both teams?

Perhaps.

For some of us, faith is all we have…

Tyson Frizell takes the first hit up for the Knights and we are underway with a base drum providing the backing in front of this big country crowd.

The crowd is packed into Carrington Park and welcome the players with a rousing reception.

Let’s have a good game!

-AAP

After the siren sounds on the State of Origin series opener, Mitch Barnett hopes to roll up his sleeves and lend a hand on NSW’s flood-ravaged mid-north coast.

Warriors co-captain Barnett has had to watch from afar as flood waters ravaged the Manning Valley area where he was born and raised, and where his parents still live.

The floods are the worst the Taree region has ever faced, with five deaths confirmed across the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast by Saturday morning.

“Everyone’s doing it tough at the moment, which is hard to see,” said Taree-born, Wingham-raised Barnett.

Barnett’s father Paul is unsure of the extent of damage on his dairy farm but at the very least is expecting damaged machinery, dead livestock and a very big clean-up.

Barnett’s mother Jodie Nieass, general manager of the Manning Base Hospital, has been working overtime amid the crisis.

She’s gone as far as coordinating a helicopter to pick nurses up and flying them to work.

Barnett’s friends and family have kept in contact throughout the flooding, telling him stories about locals trapped on their roofs and how some were forced to hear the sounds of their cattle drowning below.

“You don’t really think about that until you’re impacted by it and then when you hear those stories,” he said.

“It is extremely sad and it was scary there for a bit.

“It’s a great community, they’ll all get around each other and that’s one thing I will be proud of, to see them rally together.”

Blues forward Barnett hopes to visit and lend a hand after his Origin duties and expects he may be joined by Blues centre Latrell Mitchell and assistant coach Boyd Cordner, also from the area.

Barnett’s immediate focus is putting in an Origin performance at Lang Park that can make the rugby league-mad area proud.

“A lot of people up there bleed Blue and they’d love nothing more than to see a win next Wednesday night,” Barnett said.

“I know that’d put a smile on their face, so that’s where it starts, putting my best foot forward for this team and then I’ll address what I can help with after that.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone there and at some stage I’ll try and do my best to get back and help in whatever way that looks.

“We’ll use whatever tools we can to help the area.”

Follow all the news from the NSW floods in our live blog.

The Panthers are familiar with the surrounds in Bathurst, this is the 11th time they have made the trip to the country.

This is a real step back to basics for these players, a smaller country venue albeit with a big crowd.

How will it affect the players?

Only seven members of the team that won last year’s grand final suit up for the Panthers in this match.

However, the other stats are very much in their favour.

The Panthers are undefeated in their last 10 games against the Knights, they’ve won three of their past four games in Bathurst and the Knights have won only three of their last 10 games played outside Newcastle. 

The Knights too have averaged only 13 points per game in 2025.

It’s not too late to change your mind, Mike…

Although, we’ve had a handful of upsets already so far, so who knows?

Here’s how the two teams line up this evening.

In a late change, Jesse McLean comes into the Penrith side on the wing, with Thomas Jenkins shifting to centre and Izack Tago to the back row.

Preston Riki will start off the bench and Harry Hassett will make his debut.

Luke Garner (concussion) and Isaiah Papali’i (knee) are both out which, plus the Origin absentees, means Mitch Kenny captains the side for just the second time.

The Knights have had to make changes too.

Leo Thompson has a bout of gastro and is a late withdrawal.

The team gave the stricken forward every  chance to recover, keeping a car on standby for him to get down to Sydney, but he didn’t make it.

That means Brodie Jones starts the game at prop and Paul Bryan makes his NRL debut off the bench.

“I told Paul when we got to Bathurst,” Adam O’Brien said.

“It was a mad scramble by the club to get Paul’s parents from Mackay but they’re here now and we’ve got one excited man on our hands.”

Here’s Adam O’Brien, speaking to Fox Sports before the match.

He says that although both teams have the same number of players out, it will be a tough test.

“They’ve done a great job since 2019,” he says.

“They’ve had sustained success and a system that works for the next man up mentality.

“We know that they’re [Penrith] gunna be incredibly tough.

“I just wanna see my guys with a smile on their face at the end of the night for once.”

He told press earlier in the week that he had the full support of the board despite the Knights woeful performances and form.

That’s not normally a good sign…