It was a breakout year for rising star Lachlan Fitzgibbon who had his best season in the NRL.
He started at second-row in 21 games throughout the 2018 season and finished as the nib Newcastle Knights' second leading try-scorer with nine.
Fitzgibbon formed a lethal combination with Knights fullback, Kalyn Ponga on the left edge, scoring four tries courtesy of a Ponga assist.
The 24-year-old was also the NRL leader in line-breaks for forwards with 12.
Fitzgibbon was rewarded for his excellent season by signing a contract extension to stay at the Knights until at least the end of 2021.
KP reveals his biggest challenge for 2019
2018 Moment:
Lachlan Fitzgibbon was one of the Knights most consistent performers in 2018.
The 24-year-old had plenty of great moments. If he wasn't scoring tries, he was either breaking the line with a barnstorming run or pulling off a great tackle.
But it was his effort in defence against Canberra in Round 2 which had fans talking.
The Raiders were 10 metres out from the try-line.
The first couple of days have been really special
Scores were locked up at six-all with 20 minutes remaining in the first half.
Raiders hooker, Siliva Havili scooted out of dummy half, attracted both markers and also lured in defender, Daniel Saifiti.
Monster prop Shannon Boyd was running towards the hole in the defence which Saifiti had created when he pushed up on Havili.
But Fitzgibbon read the play perfectly, pushing up out of the line and quickly shut down the run by Boyd with a great tackle.
Fitzgibbon used the momentum of the 120kg prop to spin the big man and put him on his back, a metre away from the try-line, saving an almost certain four-pointer.
In a game where the Knights won by two-points, it turned out to be a huge turning point in the match.
What do the boys want for Christmas?
2018 season stats:
Games: 21
Avg running metres: 87.4m
Tackles made: 635 (89.8% efficiency)
Tries: 9
Line breaks: 12
Offloads: 9
Tackle breaks: 69
