THE Newcastle Knights' season is over after bowing out 46-20 to South Sydney in Sunday's elimination final at ANZ Stadium.
Making their first finals appearance since 2013, Newcastle enjoyed a dream start but faded once the experienced Rabbitohs upped the ante midway through the first half.
The Knights exploded out of the blocks to lead 14-0 after only 11 minutes, but the Rabbitohs responded with four tries before the half-time break to seize a 20-14 advantage.
Newcastle winger Hymel Hunt opened the scoring in the second minute after a cut-out pass from fullback Kalyn Ponga, then five minutes later centre Bradman Best streaked away to score on the opposite flank after a break by back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon.
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Ponga converted both tries from the sidelines, and then added a penalty goal from close range.
But just when it seemed the Knights had all the momentum, Souths rallied with tries by Corey Allan, Cody Walker and Alex Johnston in the space of eight minutes.
That locked scores up at 14-all, and Souths surged ahead in the 36th minute when hooker Damien Cook scooted out of dummy-half and found Cameron Murray in support.
A penalty goal by Reynolds in the 47th minute gave the Rabbitohs an eight-point buffer.
When prolific finisher Johnston flashed over for his second try in the 69th minute, it was effectively game over.
Two tries from close range by prop Tevita Tatloa put the Knights out of their misery.
A second try from Hunt on the stroke of full-time, converted by veteran Aidan Guerra, in the last game of his NRL career, provided some consolation for the visitors.
A series of handling errors sabotaged Newcastle's chances of applying pressure and mounting a fightback.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien shuffled his squad before kick-off, switching Kurt Mann to five-eighth and starting with Chris Randall at hooker.
Herman Ese'ese also came into the starting pack and Guerra came off the bench.
