Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis made a triumphant return to Newcastle, starring in the Broncos 34-22 NRL victory over the Knights to help his side jump to the top of the NRL table.

Ennis scored two tries and booted seven goals for a personal haul of 22 points, his goalkicking the difference as both sides finished with five tries.

Ennis made his debut for the Knights in 2003 and his return to EnergyAustralia Stadium showed all the hallmarks of the potential Newcastle once saw in the 24-year-old.

While Broncos coach Wayne Bennett praised his hooker he banned him from talking to the media.

"It was just lovely to see Michael play like he did today," said Bennett.

"We've all been waiting to see that. He has had a mixed two seasons with us with injuries. He has got over those now ... he is relishing the role."

It was Ennis's first standout game since joining Brisbane in 2006 after battling through two knee reconstructions since moving from St George Illawarra, and Bennett gagged him from talking so he wouldn't get carried away with just one good performance.

He scored both his tries in the opening half as the Broncos raced to a 26-8 lead at the break, his first as a support player from a Dave Taylor bust and the second off a Peter Wallace kick.

The Knights rallied in the second half with Gidley and Cory Paterson both crossing to complete tryscoring doubles and pull Newcastle within 10 points with 19 minutes to play.

But Broncos skipper Justin Hodges grabbed a 30m intercept try against the run of play for his second of the day in the 68th minute and secure the win before Knights backrower Chris Houston scored a late consolation try in the 77th minute.

The home team wasn't helped by Kurt Gidley managing to kick just one of his five near-sideline attempts.

Newcastle coach Brian Smith however was upset at a pivotal miss by referee Shayne Hayne in the 63rd minute when Wes Naiqama was dragged down without the ball by Nick Kenny.

Danny Buderus had made a break and if Naiqama had not been brought to the ground it could easily have led to a try to bring the Knights within sight of snatching the win.

"You saw it too," said Smith of the incident.

"I saw that, apparently nobody else did. It was a bit of disappointment that because we were really on a roll there."

Although gallant in fighting back, the damage was done in the first half as Brisbane's two tries in the final five minutes created a buffer too big for the Knights to run down as heavy rain interfered with their comeback.

Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt produced the most telling play of the game a minute before oranges when he sliced through the defence on the halfway line then dummied past Gidley to give his side a three converted try buffer.

"We got that try right on halftime and that was the difference," said Bennett.

Smith, who may lose halfback Scott Dureau with ankle and hip injuries next week, said Brisbane won the game by converting their opportunities.

"We got punished very much for our errors today. The first half particularly defensively, if we missed a tackle we got scored against," Smith said.

"Their tries in the first half were just too easy. Bad communication and a couple of simple missed tackles, but to be fair the Broncos supported their breaks well and they converted those chances into points."

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