A home game victory for the nib Newcastle Knights against the Gold Coast Titans this weekend wasn’t just a coup for the Club but a milestone for young forward Sam Stone.
The 19-year-old was one of five try scorers for the Knights, crossing the line in the 55th minute of the match to claim his first ever NRL try and to take them to a two-point lead.
In the sheds after the match, Stone said it was a surreal feeling.
“It was great, the best feeling in the world," he explained.
"It is the first win for a while, first win at home and to get a try was the icing on the cake.
“The crowd went crazy and all the boys jumped all over me, I can’t explain it because it hasn’t really hit me yet.”
Stone maintains the key to their win was sticking to their game plan.
“We did it in patches in the first half but more so in the second,” Stone added.
“We’re always scoring points if we can stick to the game plan and keep to our structure.
“The best thing about those boys is that they’re tough as nails.”
The victory even sweeter in front of 17 of the Club’s most capped players, who were at McDonald Jones Stadium as part of the Club's 30th year celebrations.
“It meant a lot to all of us with the Old Boys’ here, they’ve all played hundreds of games and they’re all the best players from the Club,” Stone explained.
Now putting focus on the Knights Round 3 clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Stone believes the win will lift the team.
“We took confident out of the first game but we’ll definitely take heaps of confidence out of this game,” Stone said.
“We’ve talked a lot about building a good record at home and making this our fortress and I think we’ll continue to do that as the year goes on.”
Be at McDonald Jones Stadium this Saturday, to see the Knights take on the Rabbitohs!
