Bradman Best says watching the Gold Coast win that helped push Newcastle into a wooden-spoon fight last season still burns. The Knights centre said the Titans' surge on the penultimate day of the 2025 regular season, and the pain that followed, has given Newcastle a sharper edge before they meet again in Magic Round.
"It lit a fire in my belly," Best said, reflecting on a run that saw Newcastle enter the final round of 2025 trying to avoid last place. The Knights needed to beat Parramatta or hope the Titans lost, but Gold Coast's upset of Wests Tigers leapfrogged Newcastle and Parramatta then hammered Adam O'Brien's side 66-10 in the coach's final game in charge.
The result left Newcastle with only one weekend in last place during 2025, but it was the one that mattered most. Best called it disappointing and said it was the easy option to think the Titans would do the work for them. "Then when they won and then we had to play and we lost, it was hard," he said.
That memory sits behind a very different start under Justin Holbrook. Newcastle have six wins from their first 10 games despite injuries to Fletcher Sharpe, Kalyn Ponga, Dylan Brown, Tyson Frizell and Dylan Lucas across the first 10 weeks of the season. The Titans, meanwhile, entered round 11 in second-last spot, another reminder of how quickly the ladder can turn.
Best said the Knights spoke openly after the 2025 collapse and made a promise that there would not be a repeat in 2026. "We just don't want to be in that position ever again," he said. "It was disappointing stuff, but you definitely want to re-write that and do better for the club, community and for ourselves."
He said the wooden spoon carried a wider sting than points on a ladder. "It's tough when you get the wooden spoon, not only for yourself but your family," Best said. "You bring everyone into it. There's a bit of an effect with that. You definitely want to change that."
That is why Sunday's Magic Round clash matters to Newcastle beyond the two points on offer. Best will miss the game with a calf injury, but the mood around the Knights has shifted from survival to proof, and the next test comes against the same club that helped drag them into the mire a year ago.
