Boyd Wonder steers reshuffled Warriors to big win in Newcastle

The Warriors scored three tries to one in both halves to carve out a convincing victory over the similarly injury-hit Knights.

The Warriors are 3-0 for just the second time in their 32-season history thanks to another emphatic victory, overcoming a shaky start to suffocate Newcastle Knights 38-12.

The absence of Chanel Harris-Tavita, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Kurt Capwell and Adam Pompey, along with another early conceded try and HIA setback, could not unsettle the in-form Warriors on their maiden 2026 road trip.

In a familiar 2026 tale, the Warriors dominated possession (56 percent) and territory on the back of the Knights getting caned in the penalty count (11-4) — on top of two sin-binnings — and making far more errors (14-8).

Jackson Ford will have caught the attention of the Dally M judges again in his 100th NRL game. But it was Tanah Boyd’s poise, purpose and execution that was arguably the most crucial individual feature for the third week in a row in a somewhat frenetic and disjointed contest.

The previously unbeaten Knights clearly missed million-dollar stars Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown, and certainly could have used late withdrawal Fletcher Sharpe. But it was nevertheless a banana skin game navigated superbly by a seemingly unflappable Warriors unit.