Enari Tuala is determined not to be haunted by his two worst performances of the season in the Knights' two biggest games of 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After playing above expectations for the majority of the year, the young centre was left devastated after a number of one-on-one defensive lapses and a crucial dropped ball proved costly in losses to Gold Coast Titans and South Sydney to end Newcastle's campaign.
He says it took him a good couple of weeks to get over the feeling he had let the side down.
"Overall, I was happy with my season and the way I went but I saved my bad games for the most important ones there at the end which was really disappointing," he said.
"I thought I might have had a bit of a micro-sleep on some of those plays. I can't really explain what happened in those games. I just needed to not lose my concentration and stay in the moment."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said Tuala was shattered when he came in for his review after the season ended.
"He was pretty down on himself but I just told him those things happen in footy," he said. "Defensively, he was really strong for most of the season. He's a great kid and he'll work hard on what he needs to and come back better for it."
Tuala says he has now moved on from how last season finished and will use it as motivation to strive to get better with one of his biggest goals to put on weight before the 2021 season kicks off.
A self-confessed 'lightweight', Tuala started last season at 88 kgs before finishing it 2 kgs lighter.
It meant he was giving up as much as 14 kgs to many of his rival centres.
"Yeah, by the end, I was down to 86 kgs which made me a bit of a lightweight compared to the others,"he said.
"Most of the guys I'm up against are over 100 kgs so that's something I'm really conscious of. I need to get bigger. That's one of my big goals now. I'm trying to put on a bit of muscle."
Tuala says he has been eating much bigger portion servings than he's used to and spending more time in the gym as well.
"Usually, we have days off on Wednesdays but I'm in a gym group that does an extra session on that day," he said.
"I'm up to 90 kgs at the moment but trying to hold it there and actually put more on is a battle when you are running heaps.
"I feel bigger already but I just need to keep at it and get used to carrying that extra weight on the field as well. I don't want it to affect my speed or agility."