The ballsy play that inspired Newcastle comeback

Justin Horo has applauded Newcastle halfback Sandon Smith following his incredible second-half performance in their 22-14 preliminary final win against Penrith at Accor Stadium.

Few could have seen the Novocastrians coming back into the game having been down 14-6 and having only 12 men on the field going into half-time after Phoenix Crossland's send off for a hip drop tackle on Nathan Cleary.

Yet in the space of 40 minutes, Newcastle scored three tries to turn an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead, with Smith managing a double.

His first came in the 58th minute as he made the most of an unusual defensive lapse by Penrith, seeing several players have their backs turned following a dangerous tackle penalty, opening up an opportunity for the halfback.

This, plus his successful conversion in front of the goal posts, gave Newcastle the lead.

Then in the final minute, Smith intercepted a pass from Liam Martin and ran the length of the field to put the result beyond doubt.

The former Rooster also played a hand in Dom Young’s try in the 41st minute, with Horo praising the 23-year-old’s second half with a particular focus on his involvement in Young’s try.

“There's not many that have done what Sandon Smith had just done in that second half,” he said on SEN League.

“There are a lot of really good players that have played in Grand Finals and get to Grand Finals and had big moments in the prelim.

“That performance by Sandon Smith in the second half. Not only the tries he scored, what about the awareness early on in the second half to go down the short side, play to Dane Gagai, plays to Dom Young, pushes back through the middle and come back to Dom Young for the first try.

“He doesn't get the try assist for that, but that's a try assist.

“It takes a lot of balls to do that.”

As the Knights ride the wave of momentum into the Grand Final, Smith, who joined the club at the start of the year, admitted he felt the belief in their capabilities since arriving and could go on to win it all.

“Honestly, when I got here day one, we’ve believed in this club and believed in what we can do as a team, and it's paying us back at the moment,” Smith told SEN League.

“We don't really care what anyone else says because we have full belief in what we can do here, and it's good to be a part of because it's honestly the truth.

“We believe in ourselves and believe we can win this comp.”

Smith will now face his former side in Sydney on the NRL’s biggest stage next Sunday at Accor Stadium to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy.

SEN League will have live coverage of the clash alongside the NRLW Grand Final on our radio network and on the SEN app from 12pm AEDT.

Kick-off takes place at 7:30pm.