The Newcastle Knights produced their best performance of the National Rugby League season to beat in-form Manly 32-14 in the Monday night game, but it might be too late for them to secure a place in the playoffs.
The Knights set up their win in the first half with a hat-trick of tries by the NRL's leading scorer Akuila Uate to lead 24-4 at the break in a near flawless first 40 minutes, in which they completed 16 of their 17 sets.
Newcastle have improved to 11th on the table, while Manly remain in sixth place.
