3 May 2009

Lockyer's party spoiled

11:12 am on 3 May 2009

Brisbane five-eighth Darren Lockyer probably expected fireworks to mark his 300th premiership game, instead an electrical storm cut power to EnergyAustralia Stadium and Newcastle spoilt the party with a 28-12 victory.

The win has again opened up the top of the NRL competition, with the Gold Coast Titans, who beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 22-14 moving in to equal top spot with the Broncos on 12 points after eight rounds.

The Dragons and Bulldogs can both also move to 12 points if they beat the Warriors and the West Tigers respectively today.

The Knights slid out to a 18-6 lead at halftime and were never headed after making the most of the stormy conditions, which cut power to the stadium at the break.

The second-half was delayed for 40 minutes while ground staff fixed damage to the lines on the field that were washed out by rain during the thunderstorm.

Jarrod Mullen, who was a late inclusion for the Knights, scored a double while tries to Mark Taufua, Akuila Uate and six from six from captain Kurt Gidley's boot gave the Knights their fifth-win of the season.

Lockyer led the teams out prior to kickoff and received a warm ovation from the 18,154 Newcastle crowd in recognition of his milestone game.

He became only the fifth player in rugby league history to play 300 games for one club and is the fifth longest-serving one club player in history behind Cronulla's Andrew Ettingshausen (328) who retired in 2000.