It took Knights playmaker Jesse Southwell only a few minutes of the NRLW season-opener to show she had moved on from the disappointment of being overlooked for the State of Origin series.
The 19-year-old halfback played a vital defensive role in Newcastle's gritty 12-10 victory over Sydney Roosters at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night, as the back-to-back defending NRLW champions launched their quest for a three-peat with a 10th straight win.
Better known for her scheming, stepping, kicking and passing, Southwell flexed her defensive muscles when she stopped barn-storming back-rower Otesa Pule in her tracks to deny the Roosters a try in the seventh minute.
Southwell produced another try-saving tackle on Millie Elliott in the 26th minute, moments after the Knights had taken a 6-0 lead, cutting down her former Newcastle and NSW teammate less than a metre from her goal-line.
Knights defence came to play!
It was typical of the desperate defence the Knights demonstrated all night, as Southwell's older sister Hannah, NSW Sky Blues prop Caitlan Johnston-Green, Shanice Parker, Sheridan Gallagher, Yasmin Clydsdale and Laishon Albert-Jones kept finding ways to repel the Roosters.
"My mindset before the game was just to make sure of my defence, because if I can get my defence right, the attack will come, and that's what I wanted to work on for this game, to make sure my defence was sound," Southwell told NRL.com.
Match: Knights v Roosters
Round 1 -
home Team
Knights
5th Position
away Team
Roosters
6th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
"I think everyone came up with try-savers. I think you have to in a game like that.
"Hannah had a couple of amazing try-savers too. I think all the girls did, to be honest. It was something that the city of Newcastle can be happy with, because that's what we're built off.
"It doesn't really come down to an individual. It's definitely a team effort, and everyone saw that.
"It was a typical first game of the season. We're still trying to find our feet but I think our defensive efforts were definitely there. I think our 'middles' did an amazing job.
"Defensively, I think everyone saw how gritty Newcastle teams are."
Southwell, who played for Central Queensland Capras in the BMD Premiership during the NRLW off-season, lost her Sky Blues No.7 jersey to Parramatta's Rachael Pearson for this year's history-making best-of-three Women's Origin series, which included a game in Newcastle.
Showing maturity beyond her years, the 2022 NRLW Rookie of the Year said she leaned on family and teammates to help put that setback behind her and focus on having fun with the Knights.
"I think my mentality is different this year to any other year, whether or not I made Origin," Southwell said.
"I think I've grown up a lot in the past six weeks, six months, and that's a credit to the people I've got around me and the support system I've got around me.
"I'm actually just looking forward to playing some fun footy.
"I'm not going to read into many things - kind of delete Instagram, delete Facebook and all that stuff at this time of year - because everyone's going to have their opinion, whether or not it's right, and I just don't really want to read into it.
"I've got an amazing support system around me. My Mum, my Dad, they're amazing, my brothers - although they don't really understand footy very well - and my sister Hannah, obviously. She's led me in a lot of different things.
"And I've got a great team here. This team is amazing - I love every single one of those girls - and it's a credit to the team the way we get around each other."
Grace Kukutai on her Round 1 NRL debut
Hannah said Jesse had worked on her defence in the off-season "but she's always been a really good tackler coming through the ranks".
"I think last year, she missed probably a couple of key tackles, but this year she's come back fitter, faster and stronger," Hannah told reporters.
"I'm really proud of the effort she put in there, and she definitely saved us a couple of times."
In front of an opening-night crowd of 3921, the Knights led 10-0 at half-time after tries by Olivia Higgins and Abigail Roache, but had to stave off a late Roosters rally to secure the win.
"We love playing here at home. We love Newcastle, and I know every single one of those girls loves it here," Jesse said.
"There's no place like home, we love it here, and hopefully we can continue to keep defending the kingdom we've got here, and we're looking forward to the season ahead.
"There's definitely a lot more room to improve. Offensively, we've got a lot more we can give. We barely had any field position down their end, and when we did, we scored.
"Things like getting rid of silly errors, making sure our kick-chase is better, and our push supports can be better, so there was a lot of good, but a lot we can improve on from out there."
