The excitement on Jake Mamo's face says it all.
Sitting outside Knights HQ this week, Mamo recalls the moment he came up with some individual brilliance to steer Newcastle's NYC team to a last gasp victory over the Canberra Raiders in Round 2 at Hunter Stadium.
With the scores locked at 28-all with seconds left on the clock, the match seemed destined for a draw.
Enter Mamo.
The Gosford-born flyer called for the footy, put in a kick and toed it ahead twice, before diving on the ball to seal an incredible win.
"I looked up and saw there was no fullback, so I said out loud, ‘there is no fullback’," Mamo recalls.
"And no one reacted and looked like they were going to do anything, so I just called for the football.
"I think Danny (Levi) gave it to me from dummy half and I just thought I’d give it a crack.
"So I put up a wobbly old chip, chased through and put another couple of kicks through and luckily dived on it at the end and got it down safely."
Mamo's moment of sheer skill was well received by his teammates, who ran from metres away to celebrate the last-second triumph.
"I jumped up straight away and did a big fist pump," he says.
"It was a bit embarrassing and then everyone came in and tackled me.
"They all went pretty wild. There was a big stakes on at the end, but it’s all good fun."
Mamo says the win was particularly satisfying because it was against such a quality side in Canberra.
The Raiders, who won the inaugural NYC competition back in 2008, have always had a strong team and the Knights did extremely well to beat them.
Newcastle take on the Green Machine at Canberra on Saturday and Mamo can't wait for the rematch after such a close affair earlier this season.
"It meant a lot to beat Canberra, because I think they ended up minor premiers at the end of last year," he says.
"So to come out in Round 2 and put in a strong performance and get that win, really lifted our spirits and I think that’s carried on for the past couple of weeks as well."
Mamo and his teammates hope this good vibe continues at Canberra on Saturday.
