Neither Dylan Lucas nor Jacob Saifiti took the field for the Blues last Wednesday.
But Newcastle’s NSW squad members used their Origin experience to help the Knights extend their NRL winning streak to four games with a 28-22 victory over Parramatta at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
Lucas scored two long-range tries, having also bagged a brace against Souths three weeks earlier, and made 46 tackles in a stand-out 80-minute performance against the Eels.
“I just try to do my bit. I bagged a couple of tries, which was nice, but I’m just trying to do my role and let the rest work itself out,” Lucas told NRL.com.
“We didn’t win enough games at home last year and that’s something that we want to pride ourselves on, and that’s not letting people come in here and beat us.”
The Lucas star is rising
The 25-year-old back-rower was NSW’s 20th man for Origin I and spent 10 days in camp with the Blues, taking notes from the best in the business to help him develop his game.
“I loved it. Being in there and just mixing it with the elite players of our game, being able to learn from them and just pick their brains, it was a special week and it’s something that I’m super grateful for,” Lucas said.
“I took a lot out of it in terms of leadership, and it’s definitely made me hungry to play rep footy. It’s a great group of lads in there and I loved every minute of it.
“It (NSW camp) probably did help in some way today, but I feel like I’ve been playing some consistent footy this year and I’ve been able to string a few more games together, and that’s helping me and keeping me in good stead at the moment.”
A threat on both sides of the ball, Lucas has played in all of Newcastle’s eight wins this season and emerged as an invaluable member of coach Justin Holbrook’s team.
Saifiti averaged almost 10 metres a carry against the Eels, continuing his resurgent form this season as Newcastle’s pack leader.
“Dyl and Jacob Saifiti, I know they didn’t get on on Wednesday night, but the way they came back, everyone else rested and they kept training,” Holbrook said.
“They were enormous. Dyl, the line breaks and tries, [he was] excellent. The difference in the two sides was probably Dyl – he’s such a big part of our side and he was great today.
Knights v Eels – Round 13, 2026
“He’s just so reliable and we need him ... what he brings to the team, his energy, the way he trains, and he’s a real infectious sort of a guy for our group.”
Lucas’s first taste of Origin as a squad member has made him hungry for more.
“I’ve just got to do my job here in Newy and if I get into that squad again, I’m going to soak it all up again,” Lucas said.
“I just want to be in there and help NSW win, whether that’s being in camp all week and helping get the boys ready for the game, or actually playing.
“I just loved being in there amongst all those boys, I'm loving my footy at the moment and taking everything day by day.”
Saifiti, the only one of the six NSW bench players not used in the Blues’ miraculous 22-20 victory over Queensland last Wednesday, said Lucas had earned his squad inclusion because of his form for Newcastle this season.
“He was so good in camp – pretty similar to what he does for us here. He’s like our energy man,” Saifiti said.
“He’s not young but he’s only played 50 games, and for someone of his experience, he can tell when the team needs a lift or when the room’s a bit low, and he did that in camp.
“Obviously he didn’t train too much with the first team, he trained with the opposed squad, but he trained with us when we needed him. He’s been doing that the whole year but for him to come back and play the way he did, he was by far our best today.”
Saifiti was confident Lucas would handle the rise in class if selected to play for NSW.
“Him playing the way he did, he’ll give some headaches to the selectors,” Saifiti said.
As for his own position with NSW, Saifiti was disappointed to miss out on time in the middle last Wednesday, and knows the imminent return of Broncos metre-eater Payne Haas will make it difficult to retain his position for Origin II at the MCG on June 17.
“It was a good week. Obviously I would have loved to have got on, but I knew at half-time when we were chasing points, they sort of tipped me up about it,” Saifiti said.
“The competitor in me, I would have loved to have got on, but if you told me at the start of the week that we’d get the win but I wouldn’t get on, I’d take that every day of the week.
“Obviously I know Payne’s coming back too, but to be a part of it again would be good, and being part of that first week was pretty special. I’m just grateful to be a part of it and if it comes my way again, I’ll take it with both hands.”
