Justin Holbrook knew exactly what was coming. He’d spent years inside Allianz Stadium as Trent Robinson’s assistant, helping design the very system that dismantled his Newcastle Knights on Sunday afternoon. When the halftime siren sounded with the Knights leading 24-12, Holbrook would have known better than most what the second half had in store.
He was right to be nervous. The Roosters kept Newcastle scoreless in the second half to record a 38-24 win, with an inspired James Tedesco posting 270 run metres with three line breaks and three try assists — as well as a try of his own — in a performance that was a cut above anything else on the field.
From 24-12 down at the break, the Roosters scored 26 unanswered points. The second half was one-way traffic. And Holbrook — a man who spent years coaching under Robinson before taking over at Newcastle — had no answer for it.
How the first half unfolded
The match looked nothing like its final scoreline for the opening forty minutes. Fletcher Hunt scored a first-half hat-trick, with a strong run from Francis Manuleleua setting up the fullback for his third, as the Knights jumped to a commanding 24-12 lead.
It was an extraordinary first half from the Knights, particularly from Hunt — who found himself shifted to centre for the first time this season with Dylan Brown returning from a knee injury to take up his place in the No.7 jersey alongside five-eighth Sandon Smith, forcing Fletcher Sharpe to fullback and Hunt to the centres.
The reshuffle produced one of the individual performances of the round, with Hunt’s opportunism and aerial ability causing the Roosters repeated problems.
An almost spectacular try for Mark Nawaqanitawase was denied when his foot was found to be just on the line before the half-time break, leaving the score at 24-12 to the Knights.
The Roosters had plenty of the ball but kept finding ways to squander the possession. Their first-half discipline was ragged, and the Knights punished every lapse with the efficiency of a side that had come in with a clear and purposeful game plan.
The second half: a Tedesco exhibition
What happened after the break was a masterclass in captain’s football. James Tedesco — who had been largely peripheral in the first half — took complete control of the match in a performance that belonged in the highlights reel for the entire 2026 season.
The ideal start for the Roosters came scoring first after the half-time break, as a messy attempt to collect a kick from the Knights backfired, with Sam Walker at the right spot at the right time to clean up and dot the ball down next to the posts. He converted his own try and the scores were narrowed to 24-18.
From that moment, Newcastle touched the ball only under enormous duress. Tedesco was everywhere — breaking the line, setting up teammates, dragging defenders out of position. His 270 metres from a fullback is the kind of figure that dominates possession statistics not just for his own team but for the entire competition on a given round.
A penalty to the Roosters tied the scores at 24-24, before Nawaqanitawase got his second try out wide when Robson and DCE combined — a nice dummy from the five-eighth before passing out to the wing to make it 38-24.
The Knights, who had 54 percent of possession in the first half, were reduced to just 46 percent by full time. The second forty minutes was as comprehensive a half of football as the Roosters have produced all season.
The Holbrook subplot nobody could ignore
Beneath the scoreline sat one of the more compelling personal subplots of the 2026 season. Holbrook crossed paths with former boss Trent Robinson for the first time since leaving his role as a Roosters assistant last year. The Maitland Mercury The two men had spent years building the Roosters’ attacking system together, and Holbrook arrived with an intimate knowledge of how Robinson likes to play, what his team’s tendencies are in key moments, and how to expose them.
The first half suggested that knowledge was paying dividends — the Knights’ game plan was targeted, disciplined and effective. The second half suggested Robinson had adjustments that Holbrook simply didn’t have the personnel to counter. When the Roosters found their rhythm, Newcastle had no answer. That is not an indictment of Holbrook’s coaching — it is a statement about the gap in individual quality between two teams at very different stages of their development.
Holbrook had offered “no excuse” for his side’s recent form despite the absence of Brown and Ponga, saying earlier in the week: “Obviously they’re going to improve our footy side. And the leadership. Two quality players in our competition. But that’s no excuse how we played today.” Newcastle Knights Sunday’s result, in which his side led by 12 with 40 minutes to play and conceded 26 unanswered points, will sting regardless of the missing personnel.
What this means for the Roosters
Back-to-back wins. Two comeback victories in eight days. The Roosters have now won eight of their last nine games against the Knights. The side that opened the season 1-4 and was being written off by Round 5 has found a gear nobody outside the dressing room believed was there.
The Tedesco factor cannot be overstated. A 33-year-old captain producing 270 run metres, three line breaks, three try assists and a try — in the same week that contract extension questions continue to swirl around his future — is a performance that answers questions without saying a word. When James Tedesco is playing like this, the Roosters have a ceiling that few sides in the competition can match.
For Trent Robinson, a third straight win — against a Knights side that came in with a 4-1 record and genuine top-eight credentials — is the kind of result that reframes a season. The Roosters are not dead. They are not a mid-table also-ran. They are a team that was sleeping, and they are now very much awake.
The sting in the tail for Newcastle
Hunt’s hat-trick deserves recognition even in defeat. Nawaqanitawase has scored 10 tries in his last nine games at Allianz Stadium and Hunt matched him stride for stride for the first forty minutes before the tide turned. The Knights’ injury situation remains concerning, with Kalyn Ponga (hamstring) and Bradman Best (groin) still unavailable  and Dylan Lucas’s throat injury keeping one of their most reliable forwards sidelined for several more weeks. This is a team built for the long game, and Holbrook has said as much throughout the season.
But the second half in Sydney will be reviewed in detail this week. Twenty-six unanswered points without a single try in response. Forty-six percent of possession in the second half. The Roosters, in their own backyard with Tedesco at his imperious best, remain one of the most difficult teams in the competition to hold down when they find momentum.
Holbrook knew that. He just couldn’t stop it.
