You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content

For Akuila Uate, it was very much a bittersweet moment.

Sitting in the sheds after Sunday's heartbreaking three-point loss to the Wests Tigers, Uate didn't know whether to smile or start crying uncontrollably. 

Part of him was beaming after becoming the most prolific try-scorer in Club history with a hat-trick against the Tigers, while the other side was fighting back tears after the Knights stumbled to their sixth consecutive defeat. 

It was an emotional day all round for Uate, a bloke who certainly wears his heart on his sleeve. 

"I was very upset at the end there after that loss, but it’s footy," Uate told Knights TV.

"It was just very disappointing.

"What can we do now though?

"We just have to move on and keep our heads up.

"There’s nothing else we can do.

"You’ve just got to train hard, work hard and then take it out onto the field and play your best, because everyone in Newcastle is watching."

As shattered as Uate was with another defeat, the Fijian flyer couldn't have been prouder to break Timana Tahu's long-standing tryscoring record of 91 tries.

The 26-year-old has now scored 93 tries in just seven seasons of first-grade football, a remarkable achievement when you consider he has at least another four years left in the top grade.  

"It means everything to me and I’m very honoured," he enthuses.

"I’ve been at the club for a very long time, so to achieve that is a massive honour for me.

"I’ve always idolised Timana and I can’t wait to shake his hand and move forward from here.

"I hope we get a chance to play first grade again."

Uate, meanwhile, praised teammate Darius Boyd for starring in his 200th NRL game against the Tigers.   

"It was definitely great to see Darbs achieve his 200th game in first grade," he beams.

"He has been there for a very long time and I thought he played his best footy today.

"Hopefully he continues that and just helps out through the next couple of games."