Sporting Declaration: It's time for the Knights to seize the day

Sitting 12^th on the points table after six wins from their first 14 games, they appear to be playing catch-up in the race for the finals, and all but their most rusted-on fans will be sceptical, to say the least, about their post-season prospects.

But that's not how Knights coach Adam O'Brien and his troops will be thinking, and for good reason.

This time last year, they were even deeper in the you-know-what and recovered to qualify for a home final with a week to spare.

Down and apparently out after three consecutive losses mid-season, they responded by slaughtering Canterbury 66-0 and then winning their remaining eight regular-season fixtures, before eliminating Canberra in week one of the play-offs.

Twelve months on, deja vu. They are again coming off three successive defeats - against Canterbury, Melbourne and Penrith - and desperately need to win at home on Saturday against Parramatta, who after a turbulent season that recently cost coach Brad Arthur his job, have slipped to last on the ladder.

Obviously there is a reason the Eels find themselves in the cellar, but by the same token, their squad features quality players in Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson - both sidelined earlier in the year with injuries - as well as Junior Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Dylan Brown.

They are not only a formidable team, on paper, but they have a dominant record against Newcastle in recent seasons, winning the past six clashes between the two teams, a streak that started in 2019.

So what I'm getting at here is that if the Knights are any chance of staging another great escape this season - as they did last year and to a lesser extent in 2021 - you might assume they will need to beat the bottom-placed side in front of an expected capacity home crowd.

But likewise, for the aforementioned reasons, you might also assume that will be easier said than done.

After hosting the Eels, the Knights have consecutive away games at Canberra and Brookvale - two traditionally tough trips - followed by Brisbane (home), the bye, Penrith (away), Wests Tigers (home), Cronulla (away), South Sydney (away), Gold Coast (home) and the Dolphins (home).

Somehow they will have to win probably seven of those 10 games to reach the final eight.

It's a big ask, especially in the ongoing absence of skipper Kalyn Ponga and the underrated Tyson Gamble, both still some weeks away from returning after surgery.

With those two key playmakers unavailable, O'Brien has put his faith in a debutant five-eighth, English import Will Pryce, joining forces on Saturday with another novice in fullback Fletcher Sharpe, appearing in his third game.

Meanwhile, with the season all but hanging in the balance, there appear to have been some curve balls bouncing around in the background.

First, rookie fullback David Armstrong belatedly opted out of a contract extension with Newcastle to sign a three-year deal with Super League club Leigh Leopards.

Since then speculation has surfaced that the Knights are looking to move players on, to relieve salary cap pressure, with Daniel Saifiti and Jayden Brailey among the names mentioned. There were similar rumours doing the rounds 12 months ago about Saifiti, who has another two seasons after this one to run on his contract.

It's anyone's guess how that will play out, but in the meantime, on-field results remain the focal point.

The finals race is building towards a dog-eat-dog/bloodbath crescendo and, by my reckoning, there are at least 14 teams who could still potentially make the cut.

One of them is Newcastle, who have been there, done that, and should remember what is required. But first they need to get the ball rolling, before it's too late.