Star Newcastle centre Dane Gagai says he sensed something special was brewing at the Knights before the opening whistle of the NRL season.
The Knights snapped their club-record 19-game losing streak, dating back 11 months, with a 34-26 win over Gold Coast on Saturday.
While there's plenty of football to be played before they can call the season a success, Gagai said he felt confident the team could continue to improve and avoid the wooden spoon for the third straight season.
"That win meant a lot," the Queensland Origin winger said on Tuesday.
"Last year and the year before have been tough ones but we've put that behind us.
"We aren't looking at it that we lost 19 straight, we're looking at it that we've won one and lost one this year and we'll keep working on that and hopefully string together a few more."
Running out for his sixth season with the Knights, Gagai said he didn't consider playing anywhere else and had faith in coach Nathan Brown.
He said the players had a hunger to win that was "infectious".
"Even before round one I knew we had something special going and I wanted to be a part of that," Gagai said.
"The boys showed it against the Warriors and we were unfortunate not to come away with a win.
"The club is definitely moving in a forward direction and Browny is leading the way."
Newcastle host the Rabbitohs on Saturday afternoon and Gagai predicted it would be a greater challenge than the injury-ravaged Titans.
"They're a good strong outfit and were premiership winners not too long ago but we will just focus on what we can control and the work we put in here," he said of Souths.
"All the signs are positive that we can win but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves."
Share
