An eerie silence descended over Accor Stadium on Sunday as Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary lay in agony on the turf knowing his leg was busted.
asserted
leg → descend → turf
Fans from both teams knew the seriousness of what had just happened.
asserted
what → know → seriousness
If only they knew what was to come.
asserted
what → know → ?
It ended with Andrew Johns in tears, unable to contain his emotions in the Channel Nine commentary box, and his brother, Matthew, also wiping away tears on Fox Sports.
asserted
brother → end → Sports
The result – a 22-14 Newcastle win – was as dramatic as you could script.
uncertain
you → script → ?
Kalyn Ponga slumped to his knees at full-time, on the try line he and his mates had so valiantly defended, after watching Sandon Smith’s amazing intercept try on the final play of the game.
asserted
he → slump → game
He also burst into tears as the Knights qualified for their first NRL grand final in a quarter of a century.
asserted
Knights → burst → century
Smith was the hero, conjuring a sensational quick tap for a game-defining try in the 58th minute when Penrith were napping.
asserted
Penrith → conjure → minute
You could only imagine what was going on in the pubs of Newcastle ast that moment.
uncertain
what → imagine → moment
Penrith’s devastation was exacerbated by the fact the heartbeat of their side – and, in many ways, the rugby league community of western Sydney – had his season extinguished in the most brutal circumstances.
asserted
season → exacerbate → circumstances
The complexion of this year’s finals series changed in the split second of a Phoenix Crossland hip drop tackle.
asserted
complexion → change → tackle
He was then sent from the field.
asserted
He → send → field
Everyone knew the severity of Cleary’s injury as players gathered around their inspirational leader.
asserted
players → know → leader
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, about as emotionless as an NRL coach can be, took a small sip of water.
asserted
coach → take → water
There was still a job to do, with the game locked at 6-6, but watching his son’s season end must have been difficult.
asserted
season → be → 6
Cleary snr revealed later that his son had taken a broken foot into the game.
asserted
son → reveal → game
A handful of hard former league players insinuated during the week that Newcastle should have gone after Cleary’s sore foot.
asserted
Newcastle → insinuate → foot
History will show an accidental hip drop was ultimately the thing that brought down the four-time premiership great and consigned Penrith to preliminary final misery for the second year in a row.
asserted
that → show → row
Despite being down to 12 men for more than half the match, the indomitable spirit of last year’s wooden spooners during those final 45 minutes was about as good as you will see.
asserted
you → see → minutes
You can’t help but feel energised by the Newcastle fairytale.
asserted
You → help → fairytale
In a town where rugby league is a way of life, the support at Accor Stadium was immense – and louder than that for the club based just 40 kilometres west of the venue.
asserted
support → base → venue
Francis Manuleleua’s opening try had the red-and-blue army on their feet.
asserted
army → have → feet
Even Dylan Edwards’ no-try eight minutes before half-time produced a similar reception.
asserted
minutes → produce → reception
For those Newcastle fans, the only colour that mattered on the field was red: Ponga’s headgear.
asserted
that → matter → field
The Knights maestro zigzagged across the edges in slippery conditions.
asserted
maestro → zigzag → conditions
Some of his teammates struggled in the wet, but Ponga was adamant he needed to chance his arm and search for line breaks rather than allow the game to drift.
asserted
game → struggle → breaks
He didn’t score a try, but asked so many questions of Penrith’s well-oiled defensive unit that their attention was constantly being dragged elsewhere.
asserted
attention → score → unit
Another turning point – and a sign this wasn’t the Penrith we have come to know – came with Tom Jenkins’ double blunder inside a minute.
asserted
we → come → minute
First came a rubbish kick, then a knock-on.
asserted
on → come → ?
Those same Knights fans exploded when Smith took a quick tap and scored 22 minutes from full-time to put the visitors ahead.
asserted
Smith → explode → visitors
There was a similar roar when Dane Gagai leapt like Swans full-forward Charlie Curnow to snaffle a short line dropout above his head.
asserted
Gagai → be → head
The Knights grabbed the big moments.
asserted
Knights → grab → moments
Accor Stadium has become Penrith’s cauldron at this time of year.
asserted
Stadium → become → year
On Sunday evening, it belonged to Newcastle – on and off the field.
asserted
it → belong → field
Earlier in the match, Cleary fidgeted with his reserve card on the sideline as Newcastle infiltrated Penrith’s territory.
asserted
Newcastle → fidget → territory
Reserve playmaker Jack Cogger did a decent job in his absence and was smashed twice after kicking.
asserted
Cogger → do → absence
Cleary eventually got his chance 25 minutes into the match.
asserted
Cleary → get → match
Within an hour, Cleary was sucking on a green whistle to dull the pain of a compound fracture to his leg.
asserted
Cleary → suck → leg
His day ended in the back of an ambulance, finding out the final score on the way to hospital.
asserted
day → end → hospital
Public transport and traffic chaos for fans coming down from Newcastle was offset by the early news of Cleary coming off the bench due to the injury he sustained against the Roosters.
asserted
he → come → Roosters
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
