St George Illawarra winger Jordan Pereira has emphatically put his hand up for a starting spot, scoring four tries as the Dragons thumped Newcastle 38-12 in an NRL trial on Saturday.
The Adam O’Brien era at the Knights started with a whimper as they conceded 28 consecutive points after scoring the first try in Maitland.
Pereira was a late bloomer who made his NRL debut in 2018 as a 24-year-old and once again indicated his best is yet to come with some sensational finishing.
Pereira was near flawless on the left flank while Dragons fullback Zac Lomax was everywhere – he set up three tries and nailed four of five conversions from out wide.
Lomax looks set to make the No.1 jersey his own this season as St George made the perfect start on putting a dreadful 2019 behind them.
Another Dragons fullback contender, Tristan Sailor, was impressive and will push for a starting spot in round one next month.
Newcastle young gun Tex Hoy started the game with plenty of expectation after the fullback lit up the NRL Nines last week and has earned huge raps from Knights great Kurt Gidley.
Hoy made a nervous start with an early knock on but worked his way into the match in what proved a forgettable afternoon for most Knights players.
Mitchell Pearce was one of the few shining lights for Newcastle as he controlled proceedings in the first half with some deft passing and kicking.
But they’ll have plenty to work on ahead of their season opener as O’Brien is tasked with making the side full of representative players a championship team.
Both teams got through the match without any major injuries.