It’s midseason 2001; the Knights are desperate off the back of four consecutive losses, knowing they need another big win in order to make the finals.
Nevertheless, 22,896 loyal Novocastrians poured into Marathon Stadium to see their beloved team face off against the Brisbane Broncos in Round 16, who had a strong season under their belt, eventually finishing in fifth place and falling one game short of the grand final.
Andrew Johns led the Knights against Darren Lockyer’s Broncos into what would be one of the team’s biggest wins ever, and it was a star-studded display with Knights legends’ effortlessly spilling over the line.
The first Knight to draw a blood against the Broncos was winger Darren Albert, who undoubtedly entered the Knights Hall of Fame with his finals winning try of ’97.
But, on this day, he was just as spectacular, as he crossed the line a total of three times on the right edge.
The next Knight to add to the tally was none other than Andrew Johns, whose brilliant footwork and defensive-reading abilities essentially made him an unstoppable force in his prime.
Not only was he the mastermind behind several of the Knights tries on this particular Friday night, but he crossed the line twice himself and kicked six from eight goal conversions.
Just when the Broncos thought the worst had passed, the Knights added further insult to injury, sending across centre Mark Hughes, fullback Robbie O’Davis and five-eighth Sean Rudder before fulltime.
It was a momentous occasion for the Knights as the uproar from the crowd celebrated a scoreboard that read 44-0.
The Knights went on to have a remarkable finish to the season as they defeated the Penrith Panthers 60-18 in the final round and progressed to the finals series where they defeated the Parramatta Eels 30-24 to take their second premiership.
