NRL twins Jacob and Daniel Saifiti try to fool referee during sin bin incident: ‘Hang on, the old switcheroo’

NRL identical twins Jacob and Daniel Saifiti had commentators in stitches after trying to fool a referee by swapping places during Newcastle’s test match against Melbourne.

Jacob was penalized for a late shot on Storm prop Tui Kamikamica in the 66th minute, starting a melee between the teams.

The shoving distracted referee Belinda Sharpe, who was trying to calm the situation, and meanwhile Jacob quietly left the field to be replaced by Daniel.

The referee immediately noticed the brazen move and asked Daniel: ‘Where is Jacob? Bring it back.

A shy Daniel smiled and gestured for his brother to return to the field.

Referee Belinda Sharpe spotted the blatant ruse and told Daniel to take Jacob back onto the field.

“Oh wait, the old change,” said Footy commentator Andrew Voss.

‘The brothers, oh, that’s very clever, Newcastle. I’m standing (and) applauding. You took it off the field, incredible. That’s a beautiful piece of play. That’s rugby league.

Now you can go back and sit down. Belinda Sharpe has the last laugh, but they already made the switch with the identical twins. Brilliant piece of rugby league right there. What a moment that is!’

‘How did you pick it up? Belinda, how good was that?’ Steve Roach added.

Jacob was then thrown into the trash for his act and put under report.

Halfback Jahrome Hughes looked in mid-season form with a controlling display and two try assists in the Storm’s 28-10 win.

Ryan Papenhuyzen continued his return to the NRL side with two spells at fullback, but the Knights handled him well.

But his column mate and new club captain, Harry Grant, showed off his guile at his best, sealing his performance with a try from a half-scoot.

Melbourne thrashed a lethargic Newcastle team in Fiji 28-10

Melbourne Storm had no problem getting the job done against the Knights

It was not the performance Newcastle fans were expecting as their team looked to improve ahead of the new campaign.

They missed a number of tackles and looked sluggish in defense at times, never more so than when Storm five-eighth Jonah Pezet danced across their line to score untouched in the first half.

Newcastle’s attack also failed to fire, with several passes at key moments going to ground.

A striking run by No. 1 star Kalyn Ponga that allowed center Bradman Best to score in the shadows of halftime was clearly her best moment of the game.

The Knights stationed their stars on the pine early in the second half, with bench forwards Kai Pearce-Paul (42m) and Jack Hetherington (62m) among those who battled to break into the starting line-up.

Utility Jack Cogger appears to have lost the race for a starting half role to Tyson Gamble and Jackson Hastings, coming off the bench to replace Phoenix Crossland at hooker.

Storm talent Kane Bradley (40m) didn’t set the world on fire after being named a starter in the back row, although his presumed replacement Shawn Blore (29m) didn’t do much to take the job from him.

Storm prop Tui Kamikamica looked inspired playing in front of his home crowd, racking up 88 meters in the first half alone to comfortably lead his team.