As much as Knights fans enjoyed their team’s drought-breaking 28-18 victory over North Queensland at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, things can only get better.
That was the message from new coach Justin Holbrook and star playmakers Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown as they reflected on Newcastle’s first win in 253 days.
The club’s off-field and on-field shot-callers were not dazzled by the blinding lights of Las Vegas, or getting too far ahead of themselves.
But after Newcastle’s redesigned spine generated all five tries in their first game together, despite losing Fletcher Sharpe to a knee injury after 25 minutes, the future looks much brighter for last year’s wooden-spooners.
New signing Sandon Smith replaced Sharpe and, although he possesses a different skill set, combined with Ponga and Brown to keep Newcastle’s attack running smoothly.
“We haven’t had many reps [together], to be honest,” Brown said. “Obviously we had Sharpey there, then Sando came on 20 minutes in, and everyone just linked up really well.
“KP’s just everywhere, so when you’ve got a fullback like that, that threat that he has out the back of shape, it just makes it that much easier for us.
“It felt like it was a good flow. There were times there when Sharpey holds the short side and KP comes around, or the same thing, I’m in the middle and I swing left.
“So, the combinations are there, but obviously we’ve got to get better. There was a lot of improvements from tonight that we can work on, but overall, it was pretty good.”
Brown’s cross-field bomb and Sharpe’s pass after scooping up the loose ball sent Greg Marzhew crashing over to score in the 13th minute, and Smith kicked for Dom Young to bat back the ball for Trey Mooney’s match-sealing try in the 72nd.
A Knight to remember for Dylan Brown
Ponga created Sharpe’s sixth minute try from a kick, he and Smith connected to send Bradman Best away to score in the 45th, then two minutes later he, Brown and Gagai combined for Young to cross.
“I thought Sharpey was awesome when he was on the field,” Ponga said.
“[The injury] was unfortunate but, fingers crossed, it’s the best-case scenario, then Sandon came on and we adjusted a little bit.
“Obviously Sandon’s a different player to Sharpey, but I thought he nailed his role and it was seamless when he came on.
“Things don’t happen overnight but what I’ve been saying throughout the pre-season, you want quality players on the field, and we’ve recruited well.
“It’s only round one, and there’s a lot of work to be done, but this is a good start. It’s a massive win for our fans.”
Holbrook said the off-season addition of Brown and Smith, and Sharpe’s rapid development as a decision-maker, was done to take pressure off Ponga to be Newcastle’s main man.
“I just wanted him to not feel like he had to be,” Holbrook said.
“I felt like I needed to set our team so we weren’t [always] relying on him, and like I’ve said, it didn’t matter whether it was ‘Sharpey’ or Sandon Smith there with Dylan, that we had to have enough threats everywhere so we weren’t relying on ‘KP’.
“It’s only game one, and obviously every side’s going to get better, but in particular us.
“I feel like we’ve got the nucleus of some new players there, and not having KP train a lot, and Gags and Dom hadn’t trained a lot, so we had a number of players not train much leading into round one, so the fact that we were good enough to put it all together and get a win was really pleasing.”
Still, Holbrook praised his captain, who spent much of the summer training away from the team while recovering from the Lisfranc foot fracture he sustained last June.
'Bit emotional' as Ponga returns
Holbrook said Ponga suffered body cramps when he left the field after fulltime against the Cowboys, and spent some time lying on the team’s dressing-room floor to recover.
“I want to give him a rap,” Holbrook said.
“He had to train on his own in pre-season and keep himself super fit, and to go out and play 80 minutes the way he did, that’s why he’s in a world of hurt at the moment, but he was a big part in us winning today.”
After such a long layoff, and a limited preparation, Ponga was grateful to have Sharpe, Brown and Smith alongside him.
“Having quality players out there does take that load off me a little bit,” Ponga said.
“I was trying to be smart with my movements, because I knew I was, not underdone, but I’ve only had, like, three weeks on the field.
“But it was a big occasion, bright lights, and the adrenaline gets you going, so you get yourself into that flow.
“We’re still working on our combinations and where we’re best suited, but one of us touching the ball is not a bad idea. We know our roles, and the more we’re touching the ball, the better.”
Brown said he enjoyed playing alongside either Sharpe or Smith and adjusted his role accordingly to suit his partner.
“Sharpey’s a different player to ‘Sando’. Sando is more of a half, and Sharpey’s more of a six,” Brown said.
“I feel like, when I play with Sando, I know that I can run a bit more, and I don’t have to lead the team around as much because he’s got that confident effect to his game.
“But regardless, KP’s there, and he can also do that too, so it’s good to have.
“It just happens naturally. For example, Sando will call the ball on a short side, he’ll take it, and he’ll call KP around, whereas Sharpey, you can’t stop that kid.
“He’s picking the ball up from dummy half and just running everywhere, and we have to react to that, so it’s a lot of fun.”
