Knights stun Rabbitohs with early onslaught in NRL Finals return

After seven years away from the NRL Finals, the Newcastle Knights returned not with hesitation but with conviction, striking within three minutes at ANZ Stadium to silence those who had written them off. Through precise execution and a captain's challenge that rewrote the referee's call, they built a 14-0 lead over the South Sydney Rabbitohs — a scoreline that spoke less of luck than of a team that had quietly grown into itself. In sport, as in life, the long wait sometimes sharpens rather than dulls the edge.