Knights' scoring spree evokes memories of Joey Johns' glory days

In a stunning transformation, Newcastle have cast aside their dour, safety-first approach of last season and now rate as one of the most entertaining teams in the NRL. In 19 fixtures this season, Newcastle have racked up 461 points at an average of 24.2 per game.

They are already close to 100 points ahead of their tally for the whole of last season, when they finished with the competition's second-worst attacking statistics, 372 points at an average of 15.5 per game.

Not since 2006, the last full season of Johns's illustrious career, have Newcastle been so prolific on the scoreboard.

In that campaign, the Knights scored 608 points at an average of 25.33 to finish fourth on the ladder and qualify for a home final.

That was the last time Newcastle - whose team featured Hall of Fame champions such as Johns, Danny Buderus, Matt and Kurt Gidley and Steve Simpson - secured a top-four berth and earned the right to host a play-off in their own backyard.

With five regular-season games remaining, Adam O'Brien's troops would need to average 29.4 points a game to match the 2006 tally, which would not appear out of the question, given that they have won their past four outings - against Canterbury, Wests Tigers, Melbourne and Canberra - by a combined scoreline of 154-42.

But it would seem safe to say Newcastle's club record for most points in a season will never be broken.

That was in 2001, the year the Knights won their last grand final, when they scored a remarkable 782 points, although the regular season comprised 26 games.

A year later they ran in 724 points over 24 preliminary rounds at an average of 30.1 per game.

Skipper Kalyn Ponga, who has been a catalyst for Newcastle's renaissance since returning from a five-game concussion stand-down, said hard work and confidence had been key factors.

"It's weird how you get a couple of wins and everything just seems to flow," Ponga said.

"Everyone is bouncing in here, excited to train, everyone wants to get better.

"I think, back to the process that we've had since the beginning of the year, we haven't gone away from that, even though we had a few losses.

"We stuck with it and it's coming through in our performances."

Ponga said that the 2023-model Knights - currently ninth on the ladder - were potentially a stronger team than their 2020 and 2021 counterparts, who qualified for the post-season but were bundled out in week one of the play-offs.

And he had no doubt they can continue to get better.

"That's our goal, to keep improving, obviously building off the performances that we've had," he said.

"We need to keep improving. We need to keep winning, and that's our mindset, that's our focus.

"We've got five games left and we want to win all five, and put ourselves in the eight to do something at the back end of the year.

"But it's day to day. Just keep improving."

Ponga played down suggestions that his own form had sparked the turnaround, insisting it was a collective effort.

"I think I'm playing well," he said. "I want to be better.

"I'm really just doing what the team wants of me and asks of me. I've got people in there that are doing such a good job for me, as well.

"I think I'm going well but I want to be better."

Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble said in hindsight the recent 66-0 hammering of the Bulldogs - which broke Newcastle's club record for their biggest-ever winning margin - had been a pivotal juncture.

"I think that Canterbury game was our best attacking game of the year," he said.

"It just showed that if we stick to what we do well, and what the coaches want us to do, we can score points.

"It's a bit of a discipline thing. It's easier said than done ... we've got a lot of strike on the field and it's just about getting the ball in the right spot."

Like Ponga, Gamble said the belief was growing after each win.

"There's a level of enjoyment to football," Gamble said. "Winning definitely helps. Obviously losing you come in and the next day the vibes around the place are a bit down ... but it's really fun coming into training at the moment.

"You can see smiles on the boys' faces, as soon as we get in, until the time we leave. Footy's fun at the moment."

While Newcastle's attack has delivered 84 tries this season - the fifth most in the NRL - Gamble said defence was their focus.

"Everyone's got a clear understanding of what the coaches want from us," Gamble said. "Especially in our defensive line. I think we've leaked really few points over the last month of footy, which is probably the most pleasing part, over our attack ... there's a lot of improvement in the way we attack.

"Obviously defensively, we can always improve. Winning tackles, three in the tackle. There's a lot of the process stuff that we can get better in."

Wingers Dominic Young (20) and Greg Marzhew (14) have led the try-fest for Newcastle. Their combined haul of 34 four-pointers has equalled the shared tally of James McManus (19) and Akuila Uate (15) in 2013.