"Put up with a lot of s--t": Johns gets teary over incredible Knights win

Matty Johns has reflected on Newcastle’s famous preliminary final victory against Penrith, having been brought to tears.

The seventh-place Knights pulled off one of the biggest finals upsets in recent history, defeating the Panthers 22-14 at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.

This was despite having played the majority of the game with 12 men after starting hooker Phoenix Crossland was sent off for his hip drop tackle on Nathan Cleary.

With the win, it sees coach Justin Holbrook take the Novocastrians into their first NRL Grand Final since 2001 in his first season in charge and marks one of the biggest season turnarounds in the competition’s history, having finished last in 2025 and sacked former coach Adam O’Brien.

Speaking straight after the result, the 55-year-old showed how much this meant to him and the club.

“Oh man, it's unbelievable,” a teary Johns told Fox League.

“I don't know what to say. It was unbelievable, incredible effort in that second half and I just feel I'm so happy for all the fans.

“They had to put up with a lot of s--t for a lot of years to get back to where they are now.

“Justin Holbrook did an unbelievable job, but what they did in that second half, it's deep in the fantasy.”

The 1997 Premiership player with Newcastle also paid tribute to the fans who travelled en masse to attend the clash.

This was despite fans having to contend with lengthy train delays following an issue in Warnervale (an hour away from Newcastle) with a freight train alongside heavy traffic on the M1 Highway, resulting in longer than expected travel times.

“Getting into the game, nothing was straightforward,” he continued.

“There was a breakdown on the rail line. Then the cars were backed up on the M1; people would just get into the game but didn't stop them in the wet, and when you run into a field like that, and you look up, and you see all those Newcastle fans.

“You don't leave the field defeated. If not for the fans, they don't win today, and there was some really tough things.”

Johns also made sure to send his sympathies to Nathan Cleary after he was rushed to hospital after suffering a compound fracture in his ankle during the first half of the match.

The Knights will now seek to win their third premiership in the club’s history when they face the Sydney Roosters next Sunday at Accor Stadium.

SEN League will have live coverage of the match alongside the NRLW Grand Final across our radio network and on the SEN app from 12pm AEDT.

Kick-off takes place at 7:30pm.