While Jarrod Mullen’s 200th milestone match did not feature the fairytale finish many were hoping for, the proud Club veteran says he’ll look back fondly on the special game he was lucky enough to play in front of a crowd at Hunter Stadium.
After 10 minutes of golden point time, the 24-24 score line could not be separated despite the Knights’ gutsy determination to notch the season’s first win against the Canberra Raiders.
“It was good to get all the family there, all my friends and everyone who has supported me along the way,” he said on Monday.
“It’s a big achievement playing 200 games for a Club I grew up supporting and for the town I love and live in.
“It rates right up there but I probably won’t soak it all in until the end of my career, it’s something I’ll be very proud of.”
The playmaker couldn’t have hoped for a better show of support at Hunter Stadium with the home crowd providing a valuable lift to the team when it needed it most.
“The crowd was tremendous, the way we got back into that game and the way they got behind us, it definitely helps that’s for sure,” he said.
The Knights dug deep to produce a comeback they were proud of, despite a sluggish start to the match.
“We had a chat about that and we need to come up with something. We’re not too sure why we’re starting slow,” he said.
“We just need to stick to our principles and that’s the main thing.
“We need to fix it because we are sick of chasing points.
“I would love to start the game where we are in front and in control.
“It was a better team performance and thought we could have gotten away with a win there.
“A lot of blokes were trying very hard to get a win.
“Everyone is doing great things and we’re trying really hard. A bit of execution let us down.
“As long as we are getting that effort each week from the young and especially the older boys too, we will be in most games.
“It’s good to see the younger kids coming through and local products putting their stamp on first grade.”
Mullen was voted Players’ Player for a performance which saw him play a hand in three of the Knights’ tries and provide consistency in defence.
“I think running the ball helps my game a lot and gets me in the game a lot more,” he said.
“If Hodko (Trent Hodkinson) is looking after everything out on the field there, it frees me up to go both sides of the ruck and run as much as I can.”
The Knights head across the ditch to take on the New Zealand Warriors for their Round 4 match on Easter Monday.
Mullen expects the game to harbor plenty of passion for the fact both teams are searching for their season’s first win.
“We are looking forward to the challenge. They are under pressure and so are we,” he concluded.
