IT was the split-second misfortune that proved to be a turning point in two careers.
In a trial against Cronulla, Newcastle's final pre-eason hit-out of 1994, halfback Matthew Rodwell was carried from the field with a knee problem.
Despite initial hopes that it was only a minor cartilage tear, Rodwell had actually suffered the injury every footballer dreads, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
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His season was over before it had even kicked off, and he never played for Newcastle again, although his career would continue with the Western Reds, St George and Penrith.
In the absence of the 1992 Dally M rookie of the year, coach David Waite had a ready-made, proven replacement in Jason Martin, who at the age of 23 had 80 first-grade games to his name.
Martin's experience must have been appealing, especially after Michael Hagan's departure to England.
Instead Waite decided to take a chance on mercurial Andrew Johns, who was growing impatient for more opportunities after his three bench appearances and a standout reserve-grade campaign in 1993.
So, two weeks after Rodwell's body blow, Johns ran out for his starting debut in the season-opener against South Sydney at Sydney Football Stadium.
The rest, as they say, is history.
A month before his 20th birthday, Johns delivered the first commanding performance of what would become one of the all-time great careers.
In Newcastle's 43-14 triumph, he scored two tries, kicked seven goals from eight attempts and nailed a field goal, for a club-record haul of 23 points.
His lone miss with the boot, from the sideline, hit the upright.
"I guess it was a dream debut," a beaming Johns said after the match.
"Waitey told me through the week that I had nothing to worry about. I had one of the best forward packs in the game in front of me and my brother playing alongside me.
"I was a bit nervous before the game, but when I landed that first goal I settled down a lot. I usually miss the first kick I have,so when that one went over today I gave a little cheer."
A week after "Joey's" fairytale start, he received a lesson on the harsh realities of first-grade rugby league. In a 19-18 loss at home to Wests Magpies, he landed only three goals from seven attempts and was left admonishing himself.
"I could have kicked them left-footed," he said.
The loss to Wests was the first of four consecutive defeats, but over the next 10 weeks they racked up eight wins, culminating in a first-ever victory against premiers Brisbane - 24-10 at Marathon Stadium in front of a season-high crowd of 26,743.
After beating the Knights in their 11 previous meetings, Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett graciously admitted his star-studded team were "completely outplayed".
Waite reckoned the Johns brothers earned a "points decision" over Test representatives Allan Langer and Kevin Walters.
"They'll remember that day for a long time," Waite said. "You always remember the day you play champions. They're still unspoiled,those two young blokes."
After climbing from second last to fifth with seven rounds to play, Knights fans started entertaining thoughts of a semi-final crusade. But behind the scenes, a drama was unfolding that would change the course of not only the season, but the club's future.
Coach Waite, Newcastle's longest-serving employee, was off contract.
After his team's mid-season revival, he was entitled to be optimistic about his prospects of retention, although there had been rumours since the pre-season - which he had angrily denied - of disharmony behind the scenes.
Where there is smoke, however,there is usually fire, and in this case influential players felt the coach had reached his use-by date.
Waite was a different character to his predecessor, McMahon, who enjoyed a beer and a laugh with his troops, and had the rare knack of being their mate but also their boss.
A former schoolteacher,Waite provided players with an excellent education.
One of his most prominent proteges, Matthew Johns, believes the former Cronulla and Wests winger, who played in six Tests for Australia, was a "revolutionary" coach who never received the recognition he deserved.
Other players found it hard to warm to him. Many in the media felt likewise, basing their opinions on post-match press briefings that often seemed condescending.
Sometimes, Waite would talk in riddles, replying: "What did you think?" or "How did you see it?" to valid questions.
After a 34-4 shellacking from North Sydney in 1993, journalists found it hard to keep a straight face when Waite opined: "We actually defended very well except for five seconds in 80 minutes."
The five seconds apparently referred to each instant when Norths put the ball down over Newcastle's line.
If Newcastle is not the most healthy club in rugby league, it has to be one of them and I believe I got it to that position.
DAVID WAITE
A year down the track, Knights officials felt they had enough evidence to be concerned about extending Waite's tenure.
He was starting to wear thin, and they felt compelled to explore alternative options.
This led to an increasingly dysfunctional situation in which a host of candidates - including Waite's assistant John Dorahy and Newcastle's reserve-grade tactician Robert Finch - were interviewed for the head role, even though Waite was still hoping he would be retained.
Adding to the mounting distraction and destabilisation, it seemed Newcastle's board could not keep a secret and, at one point, a faction tried unsuccessfully to force a director to resign, apparently for leaking information to the media.
There were any number of worthy contenders in Australia, but Newcastle's quest for a new talisman would take them further afield.
After clandestine negotiations in Hong Kong, they eventually confirmed the left-field recruitment of Halifax and Great Britain Test team coach Malcolm Reilly, the legendary hard man of Manly's 1972 and 1973 grand final-winning outfits.
Reilly signed for two seasons, with an option in Newcastle's favour for a third year, an appointment that a weary Waite said had been received with "a sense of relief by everyone within the organisation".
That left Waite with the thankless task of keeping his players focused on the job at hand.
His era ended in ignominious fashion as Newcastle lost their last seven games, equalling the club-record streak of 1991.
Among the defeats was a 52-16 hammering from eventual premiers Canberra, which included four tries by fullback Brett Mullins, two from his own in-goal. It was the first time the Knights had ever conceded a half-century, and on home soil, to make it even more embarrassing. "They were white-hot ... they're the best football team we've played this year," Waite said. "That is the standard we must aspire to."
After a last-round 14-10 loss away to Illawarra, Newcastle were a disappointing 10th on the ladder and Waite was left lamenting the destabilising impact of Reilly's mid-season appointment. After such a promising start to the season, he said speculation surrounding his future had become a snowballing distraction.
"From that time on we didn't win a game," he said, referring to the announcement that he would be replaced.
Waite left Newcastle with a record of 34 wins, two draws and 40 losses from his 76 games as head coach, but he could rightly claim that he was the first man to steer them into the finals and developed a host of players who would become first-grade regulars and representative stars.
"If Newcastle is not the most healthy club in rugby league, it has to be one of them and I believe I got it to that position," he said, with no false modesty.
Newcastle's hierarchy, however, showed little gratitude for his seven years of service. The outgoing coach was left waiting for two months for his final payout, which was finally forthcoming after he threatened to take legal action.
After spending 12 months in the wilderness, Waite would re-emerge at St George, taking the Dragons to a grand final loss to Manly in his first season, and then another heart-breaking defeat in the 1999 premiership decider, against Melbourne.On both occasions,the coach was left ruing contentious refereeing decisions.
Waite's main legacy at Newcastle was the stockpile of emerging talent that Reilly would inherit.
The Johns brothers each played 21 games in 1994, Andrew scoring 162 points to break John Schuster's individual record for a season.
Local juniors Brad Godden, Adam Muir and Darren Treacy were also mainstays, each appearing in more than 20 games.
Jamie Ainscough (19 games) and Robbie O'Davis (20) were other regulars, while 19-year-old fullback Robbie Ross made eight appearances.
Back-rower Bill Peden, a 24-year-old late bloomer from Cessnock, made his top-grade debut off the bench.
Newcastle's SG Ball (under-17) side featured dynamic outside backs Owen Craigie and Matthew Gidley, who scored 19 and 10 tries respectively in a team that lost to South Sydney in the dying seconds of the grand final.
Craigie, at 16, would become the youngest player ever chosen for Australian Schoolboys.
Meanwhile, big Paul "Chief" Harragon consolidated his reputation as one of rugby league's elite players, again helping NSW win the annual Origin series 2-1 and earning a berth on the end-of-season Kangaroo tour of England and France.
Throw in names such as Sargent, Butterfield, Glanville, McCormack and Marquet and, on paper at least, Waite had built a squad with an ideal blend of youth, experience and quality.
The consensus of opinion was that the Knights had underachieved in 1994. Would Malcolm Reilly be the man to help them realise their potential?
Hard Yards: The Story of the Newcastle Knights. Available to purchase from theherald.mybigcommerce.com/books/ $19.95
