ALL week long, Knights coach Adam O'Brien insisted his club's 11-game losing streak at the hands of Melbourne Storm was an "irrelevant narrative".
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Well it is now, after Newcastle exorcised their Storm demons in emphatic fashion with a breakthrough 26-18 victory in front of a jubilant 20,392-strong crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night.
It was Newcastle's first win against the Storm since 2015 and, for 11 members of O'Brien's squad, the first time they had beaten Melbourne in their careers.
"From Monday morning, the narrative was that the Storm were this big, giant thing that can't be conquered," O'Brien said at the post-match press conference.
The narrative was that the Storm were this big, giant thing that can't be conquered.
- Adam O'Brien
"That's what hit them in the face, Monday morning when they're buying their coffee.
"It was like: 'Oh, not many people are giving us much of a chance here.' Maybe that galvanised them a little bit."
While O'Brien saw no point dwelling on the streak, he acknowledged that the win was special for players like the Saifiti twins, Daniel and Jacob, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and skipper Kalyn Ponga, who had all lost multiple times previously against Melbourne.
Recent comments from Storm skipper Christian Welch, querying how the Knights lost against a depleted Penrith in round 17, also gave Newcastle's players extra incentive.
"You could see the emotion at the end of the game," O'Brien said.
"They were really happy, and I think they were a little bit annoyed by some of the commentary in the weeks leading up to this, about our performance against Penrith.
"So there was plenty of motivation."
Adding to O'Brien's satisfaction was his team's willingness to fight back from a disastrous start, in which they conceded two tries in the first eight minutes to trail 12-0.
"We've come a long way, in terms of our resilience, definitely," he said.
"I think we're a tougher footy team than we were last year. And we're maturing as well. We didn't panic."
It was O'Brien's first win in five head-to-head clashes with his former mentor, Storm master coach Craig Bellamy, who admitted Newcastle's players gave his troops a lesson in desire and commitment.
"With all due respect, they just looked like they wanted it more than us ... they were too good for us," Bellamy said. "But it wasn't that they outplayed us footy wise, I didn't think. They out-worked us. They wanted it more than us, and that showed."
Bellamy said he was "not quite sure" why his team's intensity waned after their flying start.
He dismissed suggestions that their dominant record against Newcastle may have bred complacency, saying he wasn't even aware of the winning streak.
"That doesn't mean anything to us, and I don't think it means anything to any team," he said.
Rattled by two early Melbourne tries, the first from fullback Nick Meaney against the run of play, Newcastle regrouped and started making inroads.
Tries by winger Dominic Young, his 19th of the season, and in-form centre Bradman Best pegged back the lead.
Then Storm forward Tariq Sims was sin-binned for a high tackle and the Knights made hay in his absence, posting two more tries, by winger Greg Marzhew and back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon, before half-time, to lead 18-12 at the break.
Five minutes into the second half, Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland grubber-kicked into the Storm in-goal and bench forward Mat Croker won the race to ground it.
Ponga converted to increase Newcastle's advantage to 24-12.
The Storm responded with a powerful try by centre Justin Olam in the 53rd minute to move back within six points.
The game hung in the balance, with Newcastle often under siege and defending their line, until the Storm conceded a ruck-infringement penalty in the 75th minute and Ponga goaled, to give his team a vital eight-point buffer.
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