FULLTIME - Best performance of the season so far for the Warriors. Check out the highlights here.
78 mins - TRY WARRIORS - They're not done yet! Face ball to Tevaga who powers over for a well deserved try.
73 mins - TRY WARRIORS - RTS at his finest. First receiver off the scrum, busts out of two tackles and skips inside Ponga to score his second try and rub salt in the Knight's wounds.
73 mins - Knights with an error on their own line. Another great chance for NZ.
70 mins - TRY WARRIORS - RTS draws two defenders, finds Perham on the loop and he sets Jennings off 20m unopposed to score what should be the match-sealer for NZ. Harris-Tavita adds the conversion for good measure.
69 mins - CHT through the middle, can't find support. Grubber to the corner by RTS, To'a tries to shield it dead but it bounces off his leg. Six more for NZ.
68 mins - Penalty NZ. They tap and go at their own 40m.
67 mins - Knights set ends with a bomb safely in Pompey's hands.
65 mins - To'a breaks! Pins his ears back for the line, Harris-Tavita comes across to make the try-saver tackle. Desperation pass made after the play of the ball, CHT makes a brilliant play to dive on the loose ball, then win a penalty after a Knights strip.
62 mins - TRY WARRIORS - It's that Hiku flick pass again that does the damage for NZ! This time it's a cut out 10m gem for Pompey, who soars and places the ball in the corner in the tackle of Ponga. Harris-Tavita can't convert.
60 mins - Nikorima chips to the goal line, Shibasaki leaps to save the day but he's carried the ball back. Another set for NZ.
58 mins - Harris-Tavita with the ball on a string, well weighted grubber forces Ponga to run it dead. Another attacking set for NZ coming up.
57 mins - Pompey breaks down the left edge, huge turn of pace and a big fend to go with it. Brilliant chip kick on the last back across the face of the posts for Harris-Tavita, ball glances off the post and the goal line dropout forced.
56 mins - The Warriors complete the 28th of 30 sets. Clinical play from NZ so far today.
51 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Lovely second man play run by Harris-Tavita to give RTS some room, and the skipper steps off his left and accelerates to dive over from 10m out. Harris-Tavita converts.
49 mins - Completed sets traded boths ways. Knights get a hand on a pass and NZ grab a fresh set at halfway. RTS almost breaks, well tackled in the end.
47 mins - Egan tackled inches short. Alvaro tries to burrow over under the crossbar, flips on to his back in the tackle but gets up claiming the try. Video referee reveals there was no contact between ball and turf. Handover.
46 mins - Penalty NZ for stripping the ball. They'll launch 30m from the Knights' line.
45 mins - Grubber from RTS on the last , Pearce gets a boot to it then pounces on the ball to end the NZ raid.
44 mins - Ponga explodes out of dummy half, grabs 20m before going to ground buts spills the ball as he tries to play it. NZ scrum at their own 40m.
42 mins - Pompey takes an awkward bomb on his own line, staring into the sun.
41 mins - NZ kick off to get the second 40 started, wind at their backs.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME
38 mins - Jennings is away! Reels in a bomb and peels off 40m ton the kick return to put NZ on the front foot. Lacklustyre kick from Nikorima on the last, Knights retrieve for the final set of the half. That will do us.
36 mins - Blair knocks on after the set restart. Knights with a chance, 30m out. Pearce crossfield kicks for Shibasaki again, falls straight to his chest but the centre can't hold on. Have to call that a bombed try.
33 mins - Knights earn the penalty. Tackle one at the NZ 30m. Mann scoots from dummy half on the last but he's taken in a brilliant tackle from Lawton. Handover.
31 mins - Second man play to the right, RTS taps a pass across to Pompey but there's no room to move and he's bundled into touch short of the corner flag.
30 mins - CHT bombs on the last after a sturdy 67m set for NZ. Toa takes the bomb but Knights concede the defensive penalty. NZ will tap and go, 10m out.
28 mins - RTS with a half break, drags his defender with him. CHT bombs on the last, well weighted but Ponga is up to the task under pressure.
26 mins - NZ set ends with a muffed grubber. Knights will take tackle one at their own 30m.
25 mins - Knock-on in the tackle forced by Tevaga. Knights want to challenge the call, and they fail. NZ hold on.
24 mins - Fitzgibbon breaks the line, taken at the NZ 20m. Pearce steps and spins in the tackle, tries to reach and out and place the ball on the line but RTS is on hand to make the crucial strip. Knights wil have a fresh set of six.
23 mins - Murchie picks up right where he left off against the Bulldogs with a powerful run with his first touch. Bomb goes up, Hiku gets a hand to it but it's knock-on in-goal.
22 mins - Mann spills the ball in the tackle. NZ will feed the scrum at halfway.
20 mins - TRY KNIGHTS - Mitchell Pearce puts up a perfectly timed bomb for centre Shibasaki, who just beats Harris-Tavita to the punch to grab his team's first points. Ponga curls the conversion over.
18 mins - Defence holds well for NZ, Knights yet to take a tackle inside the NZ 20m.
17 mins - Knights bailed out with a piggy back penalty. They'll tap and go from their 40m.
14 mins - High tackle from the Knights gifts NZ a penalty right in front of the posst. Harris-Tavita steps up to claim the easy two points.
12 mins - Again the Knights cough up the ball in good field position for NZ, who'll feed the scrum at halfway.
10 mins - Lino bombs for RTS. NZ return with gusto, Burr with huge metres over halfway. NZ a perfect 7/7 early with their set completions.
8 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Hiku with some space, shimmies and fends, then flicks a pass out the back of his hand for Pompey, who dives and does well to place the ball in the corner under duress. Harris-Tavita nails the sideline conversion.
7 mins - Set restart just a metre from the Knights' line. Lawton scampers from dummy half, dragged in just short.
6 mins - Another mistake early in the count from the Knights. NZ scrum 30m out.
5 mins - Hiku with some space, taken 10m out. Crash ball to Katoa on the last tackle but he's wrapped up comfortably.
4 mins - Klemmer given a terrible pass from dummy half. NZ will have the first attacking chance of the game, 40m out.
3 mins - Excellent metres up the middle from Jennings on the NZ kick return. Harris-Tavita bombs from the Knights' 40m, taken safely by Ponga.
2 mins - Solid opening set for NZ, 52m gained. To'a reels in the final tackle bomb for the Knights.
1 min - NZ recieves the ball first and we're into the action.
We're underway....
4:54pm - Conditions in Tamworth are well primed for some fast-paced rugby league this evening.
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Kia ora and welcome to play-by-play coverage, as the NZ Warriors try to keep their NRL playoff hopes alive against the Newcastle Knights.
Betting odds:
Warriors - $2.90 Knights - $1.39
Pre-match banter
Warriors duo seek chance to push for new contracts
By Ben Francis
Off-contract NZ Warriors duo Adam Keighran and Nathaniel Roache both hope for crucial game-time to push for new deals for the 2021 NRL season.
Keighran played once this year, before the coronavirus-enforced shutdown, while Roache has been sidelined since June last year.
While players like Gerard Beale and Lachlan Burr have been told to look for new clubs, Keighran and Roache both want to remain in Auckland.
Keighran was in line to return last weekend against Canterbury Bulldogs, but a training accident resulted in a broken nose, concussion and a tooth through the lip, resulting in more time on the sidelines.
The 23-year-old is targeting a return next weekend against Parramatta Eels and admits his contract situation is preying on his mind.
"It's definitely in the back of my mind, but I'm playing a waiting game at the moment and can't catch a break," he says.
"It's not my strong suit to be looking anywhere at the moment, because I haven't been on the field.
"I'm trying to get myself right and get on the field to prove [myself] to the Warriors first and then, if not, another club at a future stage."
Keighran's return would likely come in the centres, where he was named in the 2018 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year. He has also had times in the halves and at hooker in a utility role.
"It is a strength of mine to play different positions and if I'm on the field, it's a good thing for me."
Roache has worked his way through the Warriors system, but since making his 2016 debut, injuries have limited him to just 26 appearances.
Roache may have a tougher time getting on the field, with the Warriors' depth at hooker, where Karl Lawton is in career-best form and Wayde Egan provides impact off the bench.
The 24-year-old targets a return for the final three games of the season, but knows his hardest job will be getting picked.
Interim coach Todd Payten says he wants to give every player at least one game to recognise the sacrifices they've made this year.
"Karl has stepped it up," says Roache. "His running game is good and defensively, he's strong.
"Wayde is a crafty hooker and he's done a good job too, but it does make my job harder. My job is to make sure my body is ready just in case, because you never know what will happen.
Roache stresses the importance of game time and believes he still has plenty to offer.
"It is pretty important," he says. "it's hard to get an opportunity when you haven't played in so long.
"Just getting a game - or at least proving that I can get through some games this year - would help.
"It's something I can't control, but when I do get the opportunity, I hope I grab it with both hands.
"Realistically, I know where I'm at, having been away from the game for so long, so it's potentially going to have to be that.
"But I want to play, get my body right and whatever option comes, I'll keep on going until this body is completely broken down."
