THE new-look Newcastle Knights opened their rebuilding season with a confidence-boosting 30-14 victory over Canberra at EnergyAustralia Stadium last night.
Newcastle led 18-4 midway through the second half. The Raiders rallied with two Adrian Purtell tries in five minutes to close within four, then Knights recruit Danny Wicks sealed the deal with a try from a Jarrod Mullen grubber with five minutes remaining.
The Knights fielded five new faces after coach Brian Smith's controversial clear-out at the end of last season, but it was veterans Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus who led the way after fellow NSW and Australian rep Steve Simpson had limped off the field with a knee injury in the fifth minute.
Gidley, who re-signed last Tuesday until the end of 2012, was a dynamo at the back and iced his game with a try in the 76th minute and five goals.
Buderus, who announced last Thursday that this would be his last season in Newcastle before he takes up a two-year deal with world club champions Leeds, was rewarded for his efforts with a try in the 61st minute.
It came after Canberra skipper Alan Tongue fumbled a James McManus kick in-goal and Buderus pounced on the scraps, but referee Tony De Las Heras needed video referee Paul Simpkins to adjudicate.
The Knights were in disarray when Simpson hobbled off with torn medial ligaments in the opening minutes and winger Cooper Vuna followed him up the tunnel moments later with a dislocated finger.
Canberra hooker Lincoln Withers took advantage of Newcastle's disjointed defence to dart over from dummy half for a 4-0 lead in the ninth minute.
In their first appearance in Knights colours, front-rowers Wicks and Richard Fa'aoso made an impact off the bench by straightening Newcastle's attack and muscling up in defence.
Debutant Wes Naiqama scored Newcastle's first try of the night in the 34th minute after a great burst from Gidley, then Vuna crossed in the 39th minute to give the Knights a 10-4 lead at the break.
