WITH one of the NRL's most prized scalps now hanging from their belt, suddenly the play-offs don't seem such an outlandish dream for the Newcastle Knights.
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Saturday's 26-18 triumph against Melbourne Storm at McDonald Jones Stadium was Newcastle's third win in a row, keeping them in touch with the top eight teams for at least another week.
With six games to play, the Knights are two wins adrift of the eight and may well need five more victories from their remaining games, against Canberra (away), Dolphins (away), Canterbury (home), Souths (home), Cronulla (home) and St George Illawarra (away).
The odds still appear stacked against Newcastle, but coach Adam O'Brien has faith in his troops producing a late charge into the finals, as they did in 2022.
"I believe so," he said.
"I've said a number of times this week that our best footy has held up against Penrith, it's held up against Brisbane.
"I know we didn't win the games, but we played quite well and we worried those teams ... the group didn't get the credit they deserved."
While the finals are their end goal, O'Brien says the Knights can't afford to look beyond Saturday's clash with the Raiders.
"I think we've always had confidence," O'Brien said.
"We know if we get there, we'd worry some teams. But that's the result of the process now. We've got to get the process right.
"We'll enjoy tonight but then we've got to start preparing, like we did this week.
"We need to replicate that for Canberra. I know it's cliched, but finals will take care of itself. We've just got to keep working hard, keep preparing well."
Asked whether he felt the Knights were play-off contenders, Storm coach Craig Bellamy replied: "They scrambled great tonight and I thought they had some real intent in their game. If they can keep that up, there's no reason why they couldn't."
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