Knights centre Dane Gagai reckons Newcastle's win over Wests Tigers on Sunday is a performance the team can "base the season" off.
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The 14-12 victory, scored under the trying circumstances of losing multiple key players to injury, a send off and a sin-bin, certainly earned plenty of praise.
Knights legends Matthew and Andrew Johns described it as one of the "gutsiest wins" in the club's 36-year history.
Veteran commentator Andrew Voss said it ranked among the top 10 greatest Newcastle performances.
Gagai, who will make his 150th appearance for the club against the Dolphins on Friday, said it was one of the more memorable Knights games he has been a part of.
"It's definitely right up there," he said.
"Obviously playing in finals is one of the highlights of playing for this team, but what happened last year and to see the performance the boys put in, and the effort they put in ... I couldn't be more proud to call myself a Newcastle Knight after a performance like that."
The 32-year-old, who played six games for Brisbane at the start of his career and 92 for Souths before returning to Newcastle last year, said the character his teammates showed at Leichhardt Oval was more important than the two competition points they earned.
"We were dealt a bit of adversity in the first 30 minutes with KP and Jayden Brailey going down. The boys that stepped into those roles did a great job for us and ... we played with 12 players for about 25 minutes," he said.
"The effort that our middles gave us was second to none. I couldn't be more proud of the effort.
"Whether we won or lost, I think we can base the season around that."
As much as the Knights dug deep and have been duly praised, Gagai knows their victory will count for little if they fail to back it up.
The Tigers were hardly an attacking powerhouse and on Friday the Knights host the undefeated Dolphins for the first time. With up to 10 top-flight players unavailable, Newcastle will likely have multiple debutants.
Playmaker Ryan Rivett and outside-back Dylan Lucas were named on the bench on Tuesday, but the club could be forced to draft in another rookie should Jack Johns fail to overcome an ankle injury.
"No matter whether you're playing 150 like myself, or you're playing your first game, effort takes no skill or experience," Gagai said.
"It just comes down to an attitude thing.
"The boys showed that last week and we're going to have to show that again.
"Obviously we're missing a few players, but no boys have really spoken about that. It's just about next man up and do your job. We're looking forward to Friday."
Asked if it was realistic to repeat a performance like Sunday's on a five-day turnaround, Gagai was resolute that it would be possible.
"We've got enough coaching staff here and performance people to prepare us the best way possible to go into the game knowing that we can do it," he said.
"We've proven that we can do it, so now it's just about going in with that mentality week-in, week-out."
No matter whether you're playing 150 like myself, or you're playing your first game, effort takes no skill or experience.
- DANE GAGAI
With 247 NRL games to his name, and 22 State of Origin appearances and seven Tests for Australia, Gagai is by far and away Newcastle's most experienced player.
He knows full well what a win at home on Friday would mean to the club's supporters.
"We've got a very passionate fan base here. They always back us no matter what," he said.
"It's about going out there and doing it for them, not just ourselves."
"I was down the shopping centre the other day and had a lot of people proud of the performance that we gave last week, so it'd be nice to be able to do it at home for them.
"That's going to be at the front of my mind.
"The milestones are a nice achievement, but they don't really count for much if you don't get out there and put in the effort."
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