As the Newcastle Knights prepare to take on the Manly Sea Eagles on ANZAC Day, we take a look back at one of the most significant events in the Club's history, the 1997 Grand Final win.
On that fateful day in 1997, the Newcastle Knights defeated the Manly Sea Eagles 22-16 with two tries to Robbie O'Davis and the match winning try scored by Darren Albert.
The Newcastle Knights aim to embrace the traditional rivalry with the Manly Sea Eagles on Monday at Hunter Stadium.
“Obviously for Newcastle it’s the closest to a derby I suppose and a close grand final victory can bring that rivalry,” coach Nathan Brown said at the start of the week.
“The Knights (grand final) with the Darren Albert last minute try against the Manly side, which was probably the best side of that era.
“To win that grand final, I think those things leave long-lasting memories for a lot of people and the competitiveness builds on the back of that.”
Meanwhile the rivalry between the Knights and Manly has flowed on to the next generation of players at the Club according to Dane Gagai.
“It’s definitely there. I didn’t know too much about it before I came to Newcastle," he said.
“Paul Harragon let me know about that one. He was right into and we want to embrace that.
“We just have to focus on ourselves and going out there and doing a job.
“If we do that everything will come off the back of that."
