NEWCASTLE climbed out of the NRL cellar and scored their first win under caretaker coach Danny Buderus in a 24-18 thriller at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday.
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Winless since their 30-2 success against Gold Coast on July 18, Newcastle were two points adrift of their nearest rivals heading into the fourth-last match of a mediocre season.
To have a chance of avoiding the wooden spoon, they desperately needed to tame the Tigers.
Their win, their seventh this season and only the third of their past 17 games, lifted them level with Wests, Penrith and Gold Coast on 18 competition points.
But they moved ahead of the Titans, who play Canterbury on Sunday, thanks to a superior for-and-against differential (minus-148 points compared to minus-163).
A 79th-minute solo try by Knights halfback Tyrone Roberts settled the see-sawing showdown with the Tigers, but a miraculous tackle from Test forward Beau Scott just before half-time kept Newcastle in the contest.
Leading 16-12 less than a minute before the interval, the Tigers looked certain to extend their lead when bench forward Ava Seumanufagai burst onto a pass from substitute hooker Manaia Cherrington.
Seumanufagai surged over the line but, like an octopus, Scott managed to wrap him up and prevent the ball from being grounded.
Replays showed the Tigers had come within inches of claiming a 10-point advantage and crucial psychological boost.
It was typical of the desperation shown by the Knights as they battled to claim their first scalp for Buderus, in his third game in the hot seat after replacing the sacked Rick Stone.
The Tigers, chasing a hat-trick of wins, opened the scoring in the sixth minute when they kept the ball alive and winger David Nofoaluma launched himself in trademark style to score, one-handed, in the right-hand corner.
Pat Richards landed a booming conversion from the sideline.
Three minutes later, it was 10-0 when the Tigers exposed Newcastle's right-edge defence and Richards crossed out wide.
But the visitors had their own strikepower on the flank and hit back four minutes later with a try by Akuila Uate, after a classy cut-out pass from fullback Jake Mamo.
Roberts kicked a wide-angled conversion to reduce the deficit to 10-6.
In-form fullback James Tedesco tipped the balance back in the home team's favour in the 20th minute when he pounced on an infield grubber kick from five-eighth Mitchell Moses, but once again the visitors rallied.
In the 33rd minute, Knights skipper Kurt Gidley chip-kicked, Tariq Sims batted it backwards and Roberts was on the spot to ground the ball in-goal.
Newcastle hit the front in the 45th minute when veteran Clint Newton off-loaded and utility Tyler Randell scooped up the loose ball to score.
Roberts converted to make it 18-16, leaving Newcastle in the rare position of having to defend a lead.
It lasted only four minutes, until the Knights conceded a penalty right in front of their posts, which Richards used to equalise.
There was controversy in the 59th minute, when Tariq Sims crashed over and appeared to score, only for the video referee to rule he had lost control of the ball in the process.
Two minutes later, the Tigers were denied by the men upstairs when it was ruled Nofoaluma grounded the ball on the in-goal sideline after spectacularly catching a Luke Brooks bomb.
There was a third no-try ruling five minutes later when Korbin Sims was held up over the line, but the Tigers were immediately penalised in the process for a marker infringement.
Gidley eagerly lined up the shot at goal to give Newcastle a 20-18 advantage.
The video officials were again required in the 68th minute, when Knights lock Jeremy Smith was held up over the line but unable to touch down.
The Tigers suffered a body blow at half-time when Test prop Aaron Woods was replaced with a knee injury.
Second-rower Dene Halatau suffered a head knock soon afterwards, leaving the home team with just two fit replacements.
Newcastle 24 (T Roberts 2 T Randell A Uate tries T Roberts 3 K Gidley goals) bt Wests Tigers 18 (D Nofoaluma P Richards J Tedesco tries P Richards 3 goals) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Referee: Gavin Reynolds, Chris Sutton. Crowd: 10,963.