Rather than kicking stones after missing out on NSW Blues selection, blockbusting Knights centre Bradman Best chose to put the boot into the Eels at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
Unavailable for Game One and overlooked for Game Two, Best has responded with 566 run metres and three tries during the past fortnight as the Knights pushed Penrith all the way and then pushed past Parra in a thriller.
Best's 90-metre try in the 72nd minute gave the Knights a 28-20 lead but the Eels recovered a short kick-off to set up a converted try for Junior Paulo three minutes later to trim the deficit to two.
"I was struggling to get there in the end but it was good to cross over," Best told reporters.
Knights v Eels – Round 17, 2024
"I guess that's my job. The outside backs have to defend well, then when there's a scrap there, get on it, and I guess I was lucky to get away there and find the try-line."
Best's encore to another standing ovation came in the 78th minute after another Eels error, though on weary legs his 80-metre return was more of a jog than a sprint.
"That was torture, that second one," he said. "That was tough. I looked up and saw how far I had to go, and I knew I had to get there.
"Parra scared us when Paulo went over there, and there was still four minutes to play. But we knew we had to close that game off, and it was good to come home with the two points."
After grabbing a double for the Blues on Origin debut in Game Three last year, Best was considered a frontrunner for selection in Game One before a hamstring injury suffered against the Titans on May 18 cruelled his dreams.
Best returned in Round 15 and made a powerful case with his display against the Panthers but Blues coach Michael Maguire opted for Latrell Mitchell to replace the suspended Joseph Sua'ali'i.
Mitchell and Stephen Crichton starred in the Blues' 38-18 rout to force a decider in Brisbane and will retain their positions if they remain healthy, but Best is on standby if required.
Bradman Best 2nd Try
"I've put myself in good stead. Hopefully the boys don't get injured but if I get the call-up, I'll be happy and I'll take the opportunity with both hands," he said.
"I got a taste of it last year and loved it, and didn't get picked this year, but that's all good. There's always time to play in those teams.
"I've got to come in and do a job first and foremost with the club here at the Knights. I love playing footy and rep honours will come later on."
Knights teammate Will Pryce, who debuted in the win over the Eels, is adamant NSW's loss is Newcastle's gain.
Will Pryce Try
"The things he does for us as a team, the big plays he pulls out, it's exceptional," Pryce told media post-match.
"He does it week in, week out, before injury, after injury.
"First game back after injury, he absolutely killed it against Penrith. I was gutted for him that he missed out on Origin but I suppose he's put his best foot forward.
"He's a generational player, a generational centre. He's only 22, some people forget how young he is, but he's got a massive career ahead of him.
"Off the field he does so much for me, he's been one of my closest best mates, and he knows how much I love him."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said Best had taken the Origin snub in his stride.
"He was dealt a bitter pill to swallow," O'Brien said.
"I think he would have been in the Game One team, so to not drop his bundle, and to come back and get himself in the form he's in now, it's a real credit to him. And he's still only a young man."
