The Newcastle Knights are determined to record back-to-back wins as the team prepares to take on the Parramatta Eels at Pirtek Stadium on Sunday.
Winger James McManus says it is about building on Monday's win over the North Queensland Cowboys before the bye in Round 17.
“I had to remember the words of the song, it’s been a little while,” joked McManus after a spirited training session on Thursday.
“It’s good to come here to training after having a win.
“It’s certainly a lot different to how we’ve been in the last few weeks.
“We let it slip in the last 15 minutes but obviously there's a lot of positives to take out of the game.
“We played some footy which was good and threw the ball around a little bit.
“We got the ball in the hands of guys who need it, so hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.”
The winger believed the win is timely and puts the team in a good position to take on the eighth-placed Eels.
"They’ve got some great players and (Jarrad) Haynesy has been killing it all year," McManus said.
“It’s going to be a tough one, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re up to it.
“It will be good to back that up and go into the bye.
“It’s always good to have that time off after a win.
"When you feel good about how things are going and good about yourself, you tend to enjoy your time away from footy a bit more and you can get your head away from football."
McManus thinks his recent switch in position to the other side of the field to play outside centre Dane Gagai has been a positive move.
“It’s probably throwing a few teams off a little bit,” he admitted.
“I don’t think I was getting many kicks to me out on the left wing and Aku (Uate) was having to deal with a lot of pressure there.
"It's just a little change up and it’s different."
McManus denied the uncertainty surrounding the future of coach Wayne Bennett is having an impact on the team.
“It would be great if Wayne stayed, but I don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of stuff this year, that as players, we can’t do anything about it.
“We just have to get on with it.
“There’s no discussion between players, we haven’t spoken about it.
“It’s something Wayne, the NRL, and I guess who ever ends up taking over the Club have to sort out.
“We can’t do anything about it, so there’s no point thinking about it.
“Wayne said he’d rather get things sorted out sooner rather than late, but it will all happen in time I guess.”
The Knights play the Parramatta Eels in hi-vis on Sunday at Pirtek Stadium, kick off is 3pm.
