Kalyn Ponga believes his side had ample opportunity to beat the Warriors on Friday night in Wellington, refusing to blame a late HIA for his side's 20-12 defeat.
Both Ponga and teammate Hymel Hunt were denied potential match-winning tries by brilliant tackles from Warriors players as they trailed 14-12 inside the final 15 minutes of the game, before a Wayde Egan try seven minutes from full time sealed a 20-12 win for the Warriors.
The near misses were part of a frustrating night for Newcastle in which they scored the opening try within the opening two minutes and led on two separate occasions.
Ponga said while tries went begging in the loss at Sky Stadium, the club's new-look spine, which features him at five-eighth and new signings Jackson Hastings and Lachlan Miller, will only get better with time.
Ponga and Fitzgibbon combine
"We put ourselves in more than enough positions to score and hopefully come away with the game," Ponga said.
"Obviously it's still getting used to each other's style... there's a lot of good signs and it's our first game as a spine together.
It's only going to get better, only going to grow. I am excited for that.
Kalyn Ponga
After earlier setting up a try and laying on a line break, in addition to running for 100 metres on his own, Ponga missed the final 12 minutes of game after being ordered to undergo a HIA by referee Chris Sutton, who was acting on the advice of the independent doctor.
Post-match Ponga, who said he passed the HIA a minute before full time, insisted he wasn't aware of any head knock but refused to blame the decision for the result.
"I have been knocked out before, I definitely wasn’t in any state," Ponga said. "I couldn’t believe it, 10 minutes to go, game on the line, I am literally fine.
Match Highlights: Warriors v Knights
"100 percent caught me by surprise. I said to the ref ‘I’m not going off’, but it’s not his call."
The Knights now have a nine-day turnaround before facing the Wests Tigers in Round 2 at Leichhardt Oval, with halfback Jackson Hastings set to come up against his former club while David Klemmer returns to face Newcastle.
The long turnaround will come as good news for Ponga, as well as Tyson Frizell, who was sidelined after failing a HIA in the first half of the match following a collision with the hip of Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.