THE Newcastle Knights have been left ruing the one that got away after a heartbreaking 24-20 loss to high-flying Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Newcastle were leading 20-18 with less than four minutes to play when the Broncos desperately kept the ball alive and conjured up a try for skipper Adam Reynolds.
Reynolds then converted to give his team a four-point lead and they clung on until full-time, despite frantic Newcastle attempts to produce a last-ditch match-winner.
The Knights were arguably the better team.
They opened the scoring through winger Dominic Young and led 10-6 at half-time
After a sensational long-range try by skipper Kalyn Ponga and a second from Young, Newcastle led 20-12 midway through the second half and appeared set to claim their biggest scalp of the season.
But with victory in sight they faltered, conceding two late tries and allowing the Broncos to post their 11th win of the year.
The result was a blow to Newcastle's hopes of closing the gap on the top eight. They remain two points adrift.
Winger Selwyn Cobbo scored twice for Brisbane to extend his remarkable record against the Knights to 10 tries in five games.
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