The NYC Newcastle Knights defeated the Manly Sea Eagles 28-18 at Henson Park on Saturday morning, after the match was moved from Brookvale Oval.
After succumbing to back-to-back losses, the Knights responded well to the Representative Round break.
“Everyone had the week off last week so it gave everyone the chance to rest and freshen up,” coach Troy Pezet said.
“They came back really positive. We just had a really good week of individual reflection and concentrated on what everyone’s role is.
“That really worked for us. We kept everything positive and that’s the way we finished."
While the young Knights trailed the challenging opposition in the first stanza, the young side dug deep in what was a statisfying comeback.
“At half time we were down 10-8 and Manly who were third or fourth on the ladder,” he added.
“It was a really pleasing result in the end.
“We just had to finish some sets and just give ourselves a chance in the second half and we built plenty of pressure and we came up with some points.
“Everyone was really happy, even when we were down we knew that we had the points in us."
Pezet said while the victory was a result of a 'culmination of a really good week', a number of individuals were key to the team’s success.
“It was really good to have Dylan Pythian back at fullback,” he said.
“He’s been out for five or six weeks now with a broken jaw and had his first game back and did fantastic.
“Luke Yates played on the edge and that was a change up for him. We are looking at developing his skill set.
“Danny Levi got through 80 minutes which is the first time he’s done that and Jack Cogger, he got us around really well and was really professional.
“Across the board I think we were really tidy yesterday and everyone just seemed really happy and positive the whole week.”
The Knights return to Hunter Stadium for a triple-header on Sunday against the Wests Tigers and are eager to be back on home turf.
“We’ve had a fair bit of travel early on this year,” Pezet said.
“We have had Cowboys away and Gold Coast away and had to stay away on Friday night because we had an early game on Saturday,” he said.
“The boys love playing at home and have been really good there the last couple of times we’ve played there.
“Coming off a good win and everyone seems a bit happier, it gives a really good building block the next five weeks and hopefully we will just keep chipping away every week and improving."
SUMMARY
Newcastle Knights 28 (T: Birch, Lamb, Cogger, Tofilau 2, Levi, G: Donovan 2/6)
Manly Sea Eageles 18
TEAM
Dylan Phythian, Bryce Donovan, Josh Birch, Braden Robson, Ken Tofilau, Brock Lamb, Jack Cogger, Josh King, Danny Levi, Daniel Saifiti, Bradie Smith, Faitotoa Faitotoa, Luke Yates. Bench: Jack McNamara, Roman Fepuleai, Ben Stone, Ben Steven.
