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Newcastle's NRL recovery has continued with a 36-18 win over the struggling Warriors in Auckland.
Nathan Brown is warning the rest of the NRL his new-look Newcastle have discovered what makes them tick.
The Knights racked up a second-successive compelling win with Sunday's 36-18 trampling of the Warriors in Auckland, built around the same framework as last week's 14-point defeat of Parramatta.
Those results followed a five-game losing streak, a period which Brown put down to the club's battalion of recruits still finding their way.
It was a methodical display at Mt Smart Stadium as halfback Mitchell Pearce controlled proceedings with his boot for a second week, sheltered by the relentless charges of a big pack led by NSW State of Origin star David Klemmer, who racked up 195 metres.
"We had eight or nine new players and I think they're understanding what type of team that we are and what we need to do to help ourselves," Brown said.
"The more the guys understand that, the more chance we are of giving ourselves a shot each week ... because every side's got a different identity, don't they?"
Newcastle's completion rate was perfect in the first half and it paid off late when they scored the final three tries. The Warriors' propensity for late fades is becoming endemic.
Newcastle's dominance was sealed by the game's final try when Pearce sent fullback Kalyn Ponga clear from the halfway line.
It capped a mixed outing for star fullback Ponga, whose hyped clash with opposite Roger Tuivasa-Sheck amounted to little.
Tuivasa-Sheck was subdued on return from a hamstring injury, while Ponga's main contribution came via the boot, landing eight of nine shots at goal.
The young Knights' star was also placed on report for a tripping incident.
Blake Green and Tuivasa-Sheck had little impact in their injury comebacks, not helped by a lack of team physicality which was lamented by Warriors coach Stephen Kearney.
"I thought the Knights came here with a real purpose. We could see that in the way they controlled the ruck better than us," Kearney said.
"We got dealt a blow tonight in that a team came here and beat us up a bit."
Pearce darted through a staggered Warriors defence to score the game's opening try and his later pinpoint bomb was claimed by a leaping Shaun Kenny-Dowall to bag the Knights' second.
The Warriors responded each time, firstly when centre Patrick Herbert sliced through for his maiden first-grade try and when winger Ken Maumalo scored via a neat Peta Hiku bat-down.
Warriors left-side pair Hiku and Tohu Harris went from heroes to villains soon after the break.
The pair's quick hands set up Maumalo for his second but they both made feeble tackle attempts on Sione Mata'utia, whose try put the visitors 24-18 ahead.
Hymel Hunt and Ponga crossed late to improve Newcastle's record to 3-5 while the Warriors drop to 2-6.
