An extremely pleased nib Newcastle Knights Head Coach Adam O'Brien fronted the media alongside man-of-the-moment Kalyn Ponga.
The Knights ran riot with a 38-0 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
A seven tries to nil thrashing is the biggest victory of the season for the red and blue and sends a warning to the rest of the competition.
Adam O'Brien's men put in a complete 80-minute performance in attack and defence.
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A jubilant Head Coach spoke on the impressive showing including holding the Cowboys to zero.
"The nil (was most pleasing) and I thought our goal line defence was probably the highlight of our performance," O'Brien said.
"That particular spine, minus Jake, we haven't had since Round 2 last year.
"I'm really happy with the win, number one, but then we get next week off and we'll get a bit more training done.
"We know what we need to go after and we need to be banking wins."
On his return from a seven-week injury stint, fullback Kalyn Ponga put on a masterclass in attack.
Highlights: Knights crush Cows
Two tries, two try-assists and a game-high 212 run metres from the dynamic fullback was influential in the victory.
O'Brien heaped praise on the 23-year-old following the impressive showing and provided an insight into what KP brings to the football side.
"It's not only what he gives us in a game, but what he give us at training," O'Brien said.
"There is a steely edge to him and he doesn't accept sub-standard performances.
"He's an exceptional leader for us there and everyone is more confident when we've got him out there."
Ponga spoke about recovering from the troublesome injury.
"I didn't feel the groin at all which I'm really pleased about," Ponga said.
"It's been a bit of a tough one with my groin because of the injury being so high on my tendon.
"I just took it day-by-day and I had full trust in the physios.
The Knights will freshen up with the bye heading into a huge run of fixtures headlined by their next match against competition frontrunners, the Melbourne Storm.
After a tough run of injuries, the squad is almost back to full-strength heading into the make-or-break part of the season.
Newcastle's No.1 reflected on the performance and what it meant to be back playing.
"I'm excited to savour this moment," Ponga said.
"I've worked hard to get back it's been seven week since I've played.
"To be out there with the boys felt pretty good.
"I could tell from the first kick off we were on and I was happy to get out there.
