The last time Wests Tigers strung three-straight NRL wins together, centre Heamasi Makasini was just 10 years old and Benji Marshall was playing five-eighth in a team coached by Ivan Cleary.
On Sunday, Marshall has a chance to guide the Tigers past Newcastle to their first trio of consecutive NRL victories since 2018 and perhaps set his side on the path to ending their long-awaited finals drought.
Marshall has been at pains to not talk about the club's past failures, which includes three wooden spoons across 14 seasons without a top-eight finish.
But over the last fortnight - when his side has overcome double-digit deficits to beat the Warriors and Parramatta - the Tigers of 2026 have given a glimpse that suggests they are no longer NRL easybeats.
"It was a good win on the weekend and once again we showed our resilience," said Sunia Turuva.
"We've touched on how we're coming back from two tries down the last three weeks. So I think we've got to fix our start as much as we want to praise the wins.
"We don't want to talk about (the past), it's a new year, a lot of people have got a lot to say about how we've been in the past."
Turuva is excelling as a patchwork centre in a backline to take on the Knights that includes Makasini, Faaletino Tavana and Jeral Skelton, who have played less than 50 NRL games combined.
And while the Tigers' young talent is stepping up to the plate, Marshall is getting more juice out of journeyman prop Royce Hunt, who was banished to reserve grade last year.
Hunt dropped weight leading into this season and his impact with Sione Finau from the bench has turned games in the Tigers' favour.
"My job is just to get on and run as hard as I can and if we're losing the arm wrestle to try and win it back," Hunt said.
"Me and Sione, he gets on first, and he takes a few punches, and then when I get on, we just try and punch everyone together.
"Our starters have been taking the brunt of the work - getting smashed and putting it in for us, but they're doing a real good job for us and taking some juice out of the opposition for us to get on and do our thing."
The Tigers host the Knights in their first home game at Campbelltown this season, a venue where they have lost five-straight fixtures.
"We want to protect it and we have to win there. All this stuff about Campbelltown and not winning - we're a whole new team and we're ready to rumble," Hunt added.
