Newcastle rode the wave of emotion from Danny Buderus' farewell to upset NRL leaders Melbourne 17-16 and put themselves in the box seat for a finals berth.

The injured Knights skipper was given a fitting send off by the 19,568-crowd in attendance at EnergyAustralia Stadium before watching from the stands as Newcastle ended the Storm's four-match winning streak despite being outscored three tries to two.

The stunning win ensured Newcastle would remain in eighth spot at the conclusion of the penultimate round on Monday, with a victory against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday enough to cement a spot in the playoffs.

For Melbourne, the loss leaves in question their quest for a third consecutive minor premiership, with Cronulla now tied with the reigning premiers on 36 points and Manly favoured to join them when they host the Gold Coast on Monday night.

Buderus, who will play for Leeds in the UK Super League next year, was denied the chance to end his 12-year NRL career on the field after suffering a biceps injury last week.

But he would have no doubt looked on fondly at his replacement as Matt Hilder played a vital role in the home side's stunning win.

The hooker put Newcastle in front with the opening try in just the second minute, before sending interchange prop Jesse Royal over in the 62nd to break a 10-10 deadlock.

Scott Dureau added a 30-metre field goal five minutes later, with that kick proving decisive as Storm forward Sika Manu dived over three minutes from fulltime.

Five-eighth Mullen started the second half, but came off soon after.

He had been struggling with a virus for much of the week and was reportedly in some distress as he went up the tunnel, but returned for the later stages of the match as Newcastle desperately held on for their 12th win of the season.

Newcastle led 10-6 at the break, but the four-point deficit perhaps flattered the Storm after an uncharacteristic half.

Billy Slater set the tone from the start when he bobbled the kickoff.

Sixty seconds later, Hilder dived over under the posts after a fortuitous offload from Ben Cross.

Kurt Gidley extended the margin to 8-0 with a penalty goal, before Greg Inglis hit back for the Storm against the run of play, intercepting a Dureau pass and dashing 70 metres to score.

Dureau came close to making amends in the 35th minute with a clever chip and chase, but after kicking ahead a second time he was brought down by Slater 10 metres from the tryline.

Referee Shayne Hayne signalled a penalty - which Gidley converted for a 10-6 lead - but both the Knights skipper and crowd demanded more from Hayne after what looked a blatant professional foul from Slater.

The fullback was saved from spending 10 minutes in the bin, but still went into the break as one of the Storm's major sinners after ending the half how he started it - with a knock on.

The Storm needed just four minutes of the second half to get back on level terms with towering centre Israel Folau easily outleaping Wes Naiqama to claim a Cooper Cronk kick and plant the ball for his 13th try of the season.

Royal's reply, though, put the home side back in front, and urged on by their parochial crowd, the Knights hung on.

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