For Newcastle Knights halfback Tyrone Roberts, there’s no better way to conclude season 2014 than to celebrate Old Boys Day this Sunday at Hunter Stadium.
The 23-year-old encapsulates one of the Club’s success stories after progressing through the Knights’ development system to cement himself as one of first grade’s most gifted and consistent players.
As a young aspiring Knight, Roberts said he always had respect and admiration for the Club’s past players.
“Coming up through the juniors, you look up to them, and to be able to represent not only yourself on the field but represent the past, I’m pretty big on it, as well as representing culture and what Newcastle is all about,” he said after training on Tuesday.
“It’s a big occasion, it’s the last game of the year and every time we go out on that field we want to represent the Old Boys, and what better day to do that then this weekend."
The Knights will run out at Hunter Stadium for the final time this season, flanked by a guard of honour made up of legendary past Knights players who have been a part of the Club from its inception in 1988.
“You can see it on their faces that they want to be out there with you,” Roberts said with a smile.
The Knights are determined to display another solid performance when hosting the St George Dragons on Sunday, taking confidence from last rounds 42-12 defeat over the Parramatta Eels.
“We are going to train hard and when we are out on that field, we are going to give it everything that we can," he said.
Sunday will also mark the final match with the Club for coach Wayne Bennett and a number of the playing squad who depart at the conclusion of the season.
“We need to step up and will hopefully send the boys away on a good note,” Roberts said.
“We also owe it to our fans and a home game is our biggest priority at the moment…so we want to get that win on the weekend.”
This year is the second Roberts has played a whole season without missing a game.
“I’m just lucky, we have good staff here and a good recovery system,” he admitted.
“It’s a bit upsetting not making the semis, last year they were our best game and it was heaps of fun in September.
“At the start it was a bit up and down, but it’s come down to our team being more consistent the last couple of weeks, things have been stepping up and we’ve improved each others game.”
