It was far from pretty but the Wests Tigers have emerged from their week from hell with an inspired 23-6 NRL win over Newcastle in atrocious conditions at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

After being embarrassed 50-10 by Souths last week, the Tigers went into hiding as they desperately sort to lift themselves out of a four-game trough.

And while their performance in torrential rain in Newcastle might not have turned their season around just yet, they collected the two points they so desperately needed and forced their way back into the top eight.

Star player Benji Marshall had another indifferent match, including falling victim to an apparent 'crusher' tackle by Cameron Ciraldo with 15 minutes to go.

However, the five-eighth, maligned for his performance against the Rabbitohs last week, proved his match-winning qualities when he kicked a field goal in the 70th minute and crossed under the posts with six minutes remaining to seal the win.

Marshall emphatically threw the ball into the air after scoring and centre Geoff Daniela crossed in the dying minutes also, signalling an end to one of the most torrid weeks in the club's history.

Following their massacre at the SCG, coach Tim Sheens was heavily criticised and rumours of player disharmony began to circulate.

But a few days of soul searching in Newcastle leading into the game evidently paid off.

Newcastle battled hard in the first half and some tenacious goal-line defence leading into the break saw them hold on to a 6-6 score.

But just five minutes into the second half, a lapse in concentration by the Knights defence allowed Tigers centre Chris Lawrence to score a soft try from a blindside scrum play.

The 10-6 advantage was always going to prove difficult to pull back in the dumping rain, and a penalty goal with 16 minutes left and Marshall's field goal put the result beyond doubt.

Newcastle's only joy came in the ninth minute of the match, when five-eighth Ben Rogers showed Brad Fittler-like footwork to score under the posts and open the scoring.

Second rower Gareth Ellis scored a rare try for the Tigers as their only first half points.

The Tigers came up to Newcastle early in the week to bond together before they faced the Knights, and coach Sheens said the mini-camp played a significant part in the win.

"The attitude of the club is to win and we wanted to win so we needed to all come up together and we did. The extra day made a big difference in our preparation," Sheens said.

"Plenty of people tried to derail us and we came up to stay tight.

"They're not easy to beat up here, they're always a better side at Newcastle and considering the conditions ... the boys really hung together and we worked really hard this week to get that to happen.

"We copped plenty and rightly so, we're not going to say we didn't deserve what we copped ... but they came through tonight which was good." Knights coach Rick Stone admitted it wasn't the best week to come up against a Tigers side who had pride to restore.

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