We love the mighty Canberra Raiders
Andrew Johns has taken aim at the Knights for their "terrible defence" during a shock 28-12 opening-round loss to the Raiders.
Despite entering the clash as red-hot favourites, Newcastle came up with a number of disappointing errors and missed tackles in front of their diehard home fans.
The hosts came up with 13 errors and conceded six penalties against Canberra, as well as missing 30 tackles in a surprisingly poor first-up display.
In his first game with the Green Machine's keys well and truly in his pocket, Jamal Fogarty kicked the Knights to death.
The Canberra Raiders halfback's kicking game steered his team to a season-opening, 28-12 victory in Newcastle on Thursday night.
The Raiders made the finals off the back of gritty wins last year and, while there might be a lot of young green shoots this season, they proved they've still got that competitive spirit.
Raiders enforcer Hudson Young has been sent to the sin bin for a "moment of madness", smashing Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga late in an ugly tackle.
But upon review, Young's act of foul play was discovered and referee Todd Smith gave him his marching orders, labelling the incident "totally unnecessary".
The NSW enforcer's shoulder crashed into Ponga's head midway through the first half, flooring the Dally M Medallist after he'd passed the ball to Tyson Gamble.
Initially, it looked as if Ponga had orchestrated an impressive four-pointer but it was called back after an obstruction from Tyson Frizell.