the following week by the Sydney Roosters in the preliminary final 40-14. In Round 3 of the 2014 NRL Season, the Knights played against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park. Shortly before half time, Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon was involved in a three-man tackle that involved Jordan McLean and the Bromwich brothers (Jesse and Kenny). McKinnon suffered fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae. Later in Round 19, the NRL held the 'Rise for Alex Round', where for every ticket sold, $1 would be donated to McKinnon to assist with his continuous medical bills and rehabilitation funds. On 7 July 2015 coach Rick Stone was sacked after a string of disappointing results, and Danny Buderus would coach for the remainder of the 2015 season. In round 26 against the Panthers in Penrith, Newcastle went down 30-12 to claim their second wooden spoon. In September 2015, the Knights signed Nathan Brown to a three-year contract to coach starting from 2016. During the 2016 season, the club debuted 11 players in the NRL, while losing co-captain Tariq Sims midway through to year to go to St. George Illawarra. Against Cronulla in round 10, Newcastle was defeated 62-0, their biggest defeat at home and second biggest defeat in history. Newcastle would only win one game all year, to claim the wooden spoon for a second consecutive season, and third overall. 2017 was the Knights' 30th year in the NRL where they finished last again, claiming their third Wooden Spoon in a row. In December 2017, the Newcastle Knights expressed their interest in applying for a licence to participate in the inaugural NRL Women's season. In November 2017, the club was sold to Wests Group, a Newcastle-based not for profit club, after being administered by the NRL since the departure of Nathan Tinkler. The following season marked a resurgence for the club, with the arrivals of high profile halfback Mitchell Pearce, sought after rookie fullback Kalyn Ponga, as well as Queensland Origin representative Aidan Guerra and several other players. The team started the season strongly, winning 5 of their opening 8 games to sit comfortably inside the top 8. However, with a long term injury to Mitchell Pearce, the side won only 4 of their remaining 12 matches to finish 11th. 2019 saw the arrival of forwards David Klemmer and Tim Glasby, boosting the team's forward pack. After winning their opening match, Newcastle lost