It was the kick no Knights fan will ever forget.
After joining the nib Newcastle Knights in the pre-season, the stage was set for Mitchell Pearce to make his mark on the team.
He did just that with one swift kick.
It was the opening game of the Knights’ 2018 season and the Knights were hosting Manly.
Not only was it the first game of the year but it was golden point and the clock was running out of time.
Enter one of nine new recruits in Pearce.
In front of 23,516 screaming Knights fans, Kalyn Ponga excited the fans from the outside in what was the tightest of games.
The Knights led 18-16 with four minutes remaining before Lachlan Fitzgibbon gave away a penalty 40-metres from Manly’s goal line.
Manly opted to take the two and Daley Cherry-Evans slotted the goal.
At the end of the 80-minutes, the scores were 18-all and the two teams headed for golden point.
Eights minutes of extra time had passed.
Manly’s captain Cherry-Evans had two attempts to ice the Knights with a field goal but missed both attempts but up stepped new Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce.
He got the ball 15-metres out and made no mistake in slotting the field goal.
There was jubilation on the 20-metre line as the whole team swarmed the new captain and Newcastle had won their first game of the season.
It was a moment no fan will ever forget and it’s unlikely the Sea Eagles players have forgotten it either.
