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Newcastle have taken the first step to washing away a horror 2014 after Dane Gagai inspired them to a come-from-behind 24-14 NRL win over the Warriors at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
The home side scored the final three tries to run over the top of the Warriors and get their campaign off to a confidence-boosting start.
The Knights lurched from low point to low point last year with Alex McKinnon’s neck injury and ownership disputes disrupting their season.
Those ownership disputes would eventually lead to Wayne Bennett standing down as coach.
However the Knights put in a gutsy performance with Gagai starring with two tries and an all-important intercept in front of 16,146 fans.
The turning point came in the 66th minute when the Warriors were up 14-12 and holding a one-man advantage after Newcastle front-rower David Fa’alogo was sin-binned for a professional foul.
A Bodene Thompson penalty gifted the Knights field position and utility Tyler Randall burrowed over to snatch the lead back for the Knights.
“(To go ahead when a man down) is a a big boost, absolutely,” Knights coach Rick Stone said.
“With Dave off the field and scoring a couple of tries and getting back in a winning position, that was a real big boost.
“We still didn’t manage the game well down to the wire, but hopefully there’ll be a bit more in us in the next couple of weeks and there’ll probably need to be.”
The Knights sealed the game in the 75th minute after Gagai came out of the line to take an intercept and run 70 metres to set up Robbie Rochow’s try a few plays later.
Gagai was a standout, scoring the Knights’ opening two tries, making two line breaks, nine tackle busts and running for 197 metres in a display which would have caught the eye of Queensland coach Mal Meninga.
The Warriors are now winless in NSW since round 19 2013 and have lost all of their past six opening round games.
Warriors coach Andrew McFadden was blunt in his assessment of his team, claiming “we blew it”.
“We had a huge opportunity and we lacked that composure, it was very disappointing, he said.”
Both sides lost their fullbacks before kick-off with Knights veteran Kurt Gidley and the Warriors’ Sam Tomkins both ruled out due to hamstring injuries. However both are expected to be fit for round two.
Warriors centre Konrad Hurrell spent half the match on the sideline with a knee injury. McFadden said he was expected to be ok but Hurrell was on crutches in the dressing sheds after the game.
Knights halfback Tyrone Roberts will have a nervous wait after he was put on report for leading with the knees as Thomas Leuluai scored. Leuluai left the field with a cut head and his side was awarded an eight-point try.
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