OF the thousands of kicks Mitchell Pearce has launched in his 14-season NRL career, has he ever hit one sweeter?
Before the dust had settled on Newcastle's gritty 20-16 victory against the Warriors at Central Coast Stadium on Friday night, most of the superlatives and accolades were heading the way of Knights centre Bradman Best.
And rightly so. The 19-year-old produced two moments of individual magic - a "Gidley" flick pass and another one-handed off-load - to create the second-half brace of tries for Hymel Hunt that enabled Newcastle to finish a gripping contest ahead on the scoreboard.
But two crucial plays from Pearce were equally influential in clinching two hard-earned competition points for the Knights.
The first came before either team had scored, when Newcastle's Tyson Frizell coughed up the ball in no-man's land. The first player to react and secure possession with Pearce, who not only pounced on the Steeden like a seagull on a chip, but then produced a lightning quick play-the-ball.
That was all the invitation Jayden Brailey needed to explode out of dummy-half and wrestle off three defenders to score his first try in the red and blue.
Then, eight minutes into the second half, Pearce again changed the course of the match in a split-second.
With Newcastle clinging to an 8-6 lead and showing signs of duress, the veteran halfback hoisted a towering fifth-tackle torpedo kick.
Waiting underneath it were two of the safest hands in the business, belonging to Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. At the last instant, the ball swung from south to north and Tuivasa-Sheck, inexplicably, knocked on. It was the perfect kick, one that Pearce has no doubt spent hours mastering on the training pitch.
And from the next set of six, Best produced the flick pass that delivered Hunt's first try, gift-wrapped, to give the Knights a 14-6 advantage.
The Warriors deserve credit for hitting back twice in the space of 10 minutes, through Adam Pompey and Ken Maumalo, to surge ahead, 16-14. Former Knights coach Nathan Brown, now in charge of the Warriors, looked set to take home bragging rights after his first clash with his old club.
But then Best produced the late, late show to send Hunt over in the 75th minute.
Like last season, the Knights are now unbeaten in their opening two games.
Twelve months ago, however, the coronavirus intervened at precisely this point. When the competition resumed, nine weeks later, the goalposts had shifted.
The Knights made the play-offs for the first time in seven years, but coach Adam O'Brien has since admitted they were running on empty.
This season they appear determined to make amends.
There's a long way to go, admittedly, but O'Brien's men could hardly have started the season better.
Mitchell Pearce's efforts on Friday night would suggest that anything is possible.
