Newcastle Knights coach Rick Stone has pointed to the club's enduring spirit as the key for qualifying for this year's finals after their season-defining 40-24 win over the Rabbitohs on Friday night.
After three losses in the past three weeks the Knights went into the Round 26 fixture knowing the winner would advance to the finals in the do-or-die clash and they answered the challenge with an emphatic first half that saw them run in five tries to one for a 30-6 lead at the break.
And while they let the Bunnies back into the match with three tries in the second half, Newcastle did enough to seal the win and book a semi-final most likely against minor premiers Melbourne next Sunday.
"Probably relief more so, particularly after last week," Stone said of his feelings after the match.
"Leading 30-6 we knew the Rabbits were going to come back hard – they are a team that can play some exciting footy and they threw plenty at us."
"We got a little bit tired and we had a couple of injuries of our own as well. But I was happy enough with the way the boys got home. We got the win – that was the most important thing. Hopefully we can do it again next week."
Stone said qualifying for the finals was a deserved reward for the resolve of the squad after a tumultuous year for the club that included a massive injury toll, a take-over by billionaire businessman Nathan Tinkler and an appointment of a new coach for the next four seasons in Wayne Bennett.
"I am really proud of the whole group," said Stone.
"We used 33 players this year and I reckon you can go back through the past 10 years to see how many teams made the semi-finals using 33 players and most teams would be finishing in the bottom four or five, I would suggest."
"We have had a few other obstacles to get over which we have handled pretty well. In all the boys have continued to keep fighting for us which is the most important thing."
Stone said the nature of Friday night's win, which included a starring performance from State of Origin winger Akuila Uate, who scored a club-equalling four tries and retiring veteran Adam MacDougall, who played his final match in front of his home crowd.
"I think anytime you have a win you get some confidence out of it, particularly how we played in the first half," Stone said.
"I thought we played some real good footy, maybe Souths weren't at their best but at the same time we played some good attacking footy to score our 30 points and that always gives you some confidence for sure."
Skipper Kurt Gildey added the win has instilled plenty of confidence in the players as they prepare to face the Storm next weekend and the sell-out home crowd of 30,729 was a major factor in the result.
"I was just saying to my brother 30,000 people, normally you don’t listen to the crowd but a couple of sets into it and you can hear that Newcastle chant – it was nice to hear," Gidley said.
"We had a bit more of a rev up at half-time and we wanted a lot better attitude for the second half this week and while we got a bit