Following the hard-fought 24-18 win over the Wests Tigers on Saturday afternoon interim coach Danny Buderus couldn't keep the grin from his face.
"It's the best day of my career as a coach, that's for sure," he said at the post-match press conference.
"It was the most frustrating yet enjoyable experience I've had.
"As a player you're in the game and can take control a bit, but when you're up top you're just riding it so hard."
It was a win characterised by starch and aggression in defence, something that Buderus was renowned for during his own playing career.
"I was just glad we got home in the end, and if you can bottle that feeling that's in the sheds right now, I know they'll turn up like that again next week," he said.
"The guys are still learning and that's what it's all about, turning up and fighting like that every week to get a result."
Buderus also singled out Akuila Uate, praising the way the winger bounced back from a below par performance last week.
"You've got to know how to handle Aku, he's been in the game for a long time now and you expect certain things from him," Buderus said.
"We were happy for him today, it was a really good bounce-back game, no one runs the ball back in the NRL like Aku when he's at the top of his game."
Skipper Kurt Gidley was equally thrilled with the team's performance.
"I think the first thing we should be proud of today is our defence, that's been letting us down for a fair part of the year," he said.
"That's the proudest part about winning games, when you defend well and you're proactive getting off the line.
"I think we go down to Melbourne with a good mindset now thanks to the effort today."
