Bati’s Saifiti powers Newcastle Knights to victory

is mobbed by his team-mates after scoring one of his two tries against Brisbane Broncos at the Central Coast Stadium, NSW, Australia on June 18, 2020.

King Vuniyayawa during his Test debut for the Vodafone Fijian Bati against Papua New Guinea Kumuls.

Vodafone Fijian Bati and Knights prop Daniel Saifiti was a one-man wrecking ball as the Knights dismantled a woeful Brisbane 27-6 at Central Coast Stadium on Thursday night.

Saifiti tore through some insipid first contact from the Broncos pack at every opportunity, helping himself to 226 metres and a try in two power-packed spells.

While for Brisbane, Payne Haas played a lone hand with Tevita Pangai Jr producing a deeply forgettable return from a long suspension. Daniel and twin brother Jacob are sure starters for the Bati at next year’s Rugby League World Cup in England.

Daniel played for New South Wales in last year’s State of Origin. Some lovely touches from Mitch Pearce and Kalyn Ponga and yet another excellent game from Kurt Mann provided the points but it was Saifiti, his brother Jacob and David Klemmer that provided the platform, dominating the Broncos pack throughout.

Knights coach Adam O’Brien welcomed the hit-back after the round five loss to the Storm.

“I thought that was really important that we came down here five days later and rectified that,” O’Brien told NRL.com.

“Good teams do after a loss, they find a way to win the next week so that was an important learning curve for us. It’s a stepping stone to where we want to get to.

“It wasn’t polished in terms of attack, we just had to find a way to get the job done.”

The Knights seemed to make 70 or 80 metres with every yardage set while Brisbane’s lacklustre showing was punctuated by a sin bin and report for Pat Carrigan due to a late hit to the back of Pearce. Broncos coach Anthony Seibold said his team’s effort was good but again the execution and lack of cohesion let the team down.

“There was plenty of effort there at different times. I won’t call it dumb but we’re not playing smart,” he added.