Jayden Brailey sat a frustrated figure in the stands as the Knights were steamrolled 46-20 by a rampant South Sydney in the elimination final last year.
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The Knights exploded out of the boxes to lead 14-0, but, in a blink of an eye, the match turned and they were bundled out of the finals - their first appearance in the post season since 2013.
Brailey's season suffered a similar fate in round two. After a man-of the-match performance in a 42-24 triumph over the Tigers, scans revealed he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Instead of trying to repel a barnstorming Rabbitohs pack, he watched in despair.
It lit a fire inside the fiercely driven hooker.
"Last year was tough to sit there and watch the boys," Brailey said. "It was what kept me going [during rehabilitation]. I was thinking 'I want to be back there'."
Brailey, 25, was front and centre at Suncorp Stadium on Monday alongside seven other captains for the launch of the NRL finals series.
Come Sunday, the tireless No.9 is confident of a positive outcome when the Knights tackle the Eels in a do -or-die battle in Rockhampton.
"Last year we had a taste of it," Brailey said. "It was the first taste the club has had for a fair while. We are really excited to be back. Of course, we want to be here longer.
"There is a different feel as well. We had won five in a row up until last week (35-22 loss to Brisbane]. Overall, we are playing well. We are defending well. There are little tweaks with the footy here and there we need to fix up this week.
"I couldn't be prouder of how we have been able to fight to get into this spot, considering how much of an up-and-down season it has been.
"We feel like we really fought hard to finish seventh.
"There is a really good feel around the joint. We are all buzzing and can't wait for a big week."
Brailey was among seven players either rested by coach Adam O'Brien or injured who were missing against the Broncos. Playmakers Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga were replaced after 45 minutes.
"It was good to be able to rest, mentally and physically," Brailey said. It was good that we were in a position to be able to do that. I had a couple of niggles from playing most of the year. I feel really good for it and am ready to go for a big week ahead."
David Klemmer picked up a rib injury against the Broncos and will be on light duties at training this week. The Knights did a recovery session on Monday before reviewing the loss.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur, buoyed by a win over the Storm in round 24, adopted a similar policy to O'Brien and sat out most of his stars as the Eels went down to Penrith 40-6.
"It is the beauty of finals football," Brailey said. "It is a new competition and all that matters is what happens in the 80 minutes.
"I have watched a little bit of Parramatta. They are a quality side. Everyone saw their strong performance against the Storm, and on the weekend against Penrith, for an inexperienced side, they really ripped in.
"They are going to be a very tough opponent, but I'm confident in our boys as well."
Parramatta tore the Knights to shreds in a 40-4 rout at McDonald Jones Stadium in round 13, which coincided with old boys day in Newcastle.
"I feel like we are very different side to what we were back then," Brailey said. "We will look at where things went wrong in that game and try to fix a lot of that stuff. It seems so long ago and is a very distant memory. Fingers crossed it is a different outcome this weekend."
Brailey played in three final series with Cronulla before joining the Knights.
"There will be moments in the game, we call them game changers," Brailey said. "A lot of those things are around effort areas. If there are more Knights players in the frame this weekend I feel like we will get the job done."
Brailey signed a three-year contract extension this week, which he described as an "easy decision".
"I love Newcastle, I love the club," he said. "The biggest thing is how we are tracking as a team. We are still tracking in an upwards direction. We have played some really good football and I don't think we have hit our ceiling yet by any means."
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James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
