After a wretched run of home form this season, Newcastle bounced back in the best way possible in Round 16 — trouncing the Gold Coast Titans 38-12 courtesy of a club-record five tries from Edrick Lee and a hat-trick from fellow winger Dominic Young.
While the eight-try wingers might have understandably grabbed the headlines, it was the work of halfback Adam Clune that stood out in the Telstra Tracker data with the producing arguably his best performance of the season in the win.
In addition to his three try assists, Clune's work rate set the platform for the hosts to emerge with a big win — topping the total distance covered from all players in the round with a staggering 10,232 metres.
Clune's total was close to a kilometre more than the next best, with Knights teammate Enari Tuala covering 9,306 metres while Cowboys playmaker Tom Dearden (who consistently ranks highly in the total distance covered) came in third.
At over 100 metres per minute (101.3 to be exact) it was a remarkable effort from Clune, who will be looking to produce a similar effort in Round 17 when the Knights welcome South Sydney to McDonald Jones Stadium.
Edrick Lee's historic night
Elsewhere at the Knights, Dane Gagai put a disappointing Origin night behind him to bounce back with a strong showing in his side's win — topping the sprint distance charts for the most metres covered a speed greater than 25 kilometres per hour.
Gagai finished the round with 292 metres, leading the way from teammate Dominic Young (266 metres) and Storm winger Grant Anderson (233 metres), while Edrick Lee finished just shy in recording the fastest speed of the round — his 34.4 km/h coming in narrowly behind Broncos flyer Selwyn Cobbo (34.5 km/h).
Cobbo catches Cowboys napping
Telstra Tracker: Round 16
Total Distance
- Adam Clune (Knights) — 10,232 metres
- Enari Tuala (Knights) — 9,306 metres
- Tom Dearden (Cowboys) — 9,197 metres
Maximum Velocity
- Selwyn Cobbo (Broncos) — 34.5 km/h
- Edrick Lee (Knights) — 34.4 km/h
- Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Cowboys) — 34.4 km/h
Sprint Distance (metres > 25 km/h)
- Dane Gagai (Knights) — 292 metres
- Dominic Young (Knights) — 266 metres
- Grant Anderson (Storm) — 233 metres