The Newcastle Knights converged on Newcastle’s iconic Merewether Baths on Sunday morning for a recovery session after beating the New Zealand Warriors the night before.
Newcastle Knight Korbin Sims took time out to speak to his teammates about the exciting season opening win.
“It was a good feeling and unbelievable playing. I was feeling every bit of tired out on the field, but once you get the first week out of the way, it will be good next week,” Robbie Rochow said.
Adam Clydsdale, who was named as starting hooker, said the main challenge of the game was re-discovering match fatigue.
“The first 25 minutes were tough, but once I found my second wind in the second half, it wasn’t too bad," he admitted.
“It was pretty tough and a lot of big boys and I got bumped a few times.
"There’s a lot to improve on but good to get a win."
Jack Stockwell made his debut in the red and blue and was impressed by the reception from his new home crowd.
“It was really good and I enjoyed it,” Stockwell said.
“It was good just being out with the boys and the fans were outstanding.
“They are a big side and we knew that coming into the game and thought we handled them well up the middle.”
Dane Gagai stole the show scoring two tries and making a number of crucial breaks during the match.
“It was good getting the win yesterday and always nice to get down the beach, it’s a bit of a win-win,” Gagai said.
“The plan is to back it up now.
“Hopefully we can now improve on our performance from last night and get out there and improve this week.”
The Knights will now launch into preparation for the Round 2 clash against the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.
