The NYC Newcastle Knights beat the Gold Coast Titans 34-18 in their season-opener on Sunday afternoon, and while the scoreline suggests that it was an easy win for the young red and blues, in reality it was anything but that.
Injuries to Jordan Pinnock (shoulder) and Henry Penn (severe cramp) meant the Knights found themselves up against the wall for large portions of the second half.
On top of that there was plenty of heat and humidity that the home side was already accustomed to.
"It was a very pleasing result, we had a few injuries in the second half so it could have gone a bit pear-shaped," coach Todd Lowrie said following the match.
Halfback Jack Cogger and winger Matt Soper-Lawler grabbed the headlines for their great work in attack, but Lowrie was equally impressed with the way his forwards handled themselves.
"Some of our big boys played more minutes than they were expecting and from a coaching perspective it was very pleasing because it was a tough win and we hung on," he explained.
"It was quite hot, we had a few blokes go down with cramps so it was pretty challenging conditions as well."
The NYC Knights travel to ANZ Stadium to take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs at 3.15pm this Saturday.
