Success is heavily dependent on timing and South Sydney appear to be building menacing form with the NRL finals starting to loom large.
The Rabbitohs had been hot and cold throughout much of the middle stretch of the season but, sporting a full strength squad headed by an ominous Greg Inglis, the reigning premiers unleashed a fearful barrage against the Knights at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. As they ran in 10 tries to one to score a record 52-6 win over the Knights, you couldn't help but feel the Rabbitohs are sniffing September in the air.
There are six weeks remaining before the finals and Souths have a hard run home, including clashes with the Cowboys, Bulldogs, Broncos and Roosters. But if they play with the kind of speed, strength and confidence they showed against the poor old Knights they will be hard to stop.
The last time they played Newcastle, Souths recorded a 50-10 win. After conceding the first try on Saturday night they quickly set a course to bettering that record in front of 14,603 fans.
The incomparable Inglis grabbed a first half hat-trick to lead a 36-6 charge to halftime. Amid the future immortal's exceptional display, Dylan Walker also grabbed a hat-trick, Alex Johnston scored twice, while Bryson Goodwin and Tom Burgess also got on the scoresheet. It would have been an even bigger thumping had Adam Reynolds kicked more accurately. He missed four of 10 shots but otherwise continued his good form from last week.
There was nothing to suggest an upset heading into the game. Knights playmaker Jarrod Mullen was out due to an ongoing toe injury and Akuila Uate was also scratched with a knee injury, making way for Mata'utia brothers Chanel and Sione.
Meanwhile, Issac Luke returned from suspension for Souths and the Gladiator, Russell Crowe, was in the house. This was never going to end well for the visitors.
Despite it all, the Knights got points on the board first when Kurt Gidley put in-form front rower Kade Snowden past Glenn Stewart for what became a six-pointer. It was a bright start but from there it was a complete shut-out.
Over the next 33 minutes the Rabbitohs exploded with seven tries, five of which came from swift, fluid, sweeping moves down the right wing, often leaving the defence dazed and confused.
Johnston and Walker combined for the first after Luke put the former away down the sideline. In the dust left behind, Knights centre James McManus slipped over and was helped by two trainers off the ground. Johnston's try was a show of strength, breaking through Chanel Mata'utia and Tyrone Roberts and dragging Beau Scott over the line.
The Bunnies were getting hot now and their next was a display of precision passing, with John Sutton offloading the final pass to Inglis. Another venture down the right wing reaped their fourth try that originated from a dropped bomb by Sione Mata'utia. Inglis then slam dunked the ball over the line despite the attention of defenders and their sixth try came when Walker was given plenty of time by the referee to wrestle Scott to ground the ball over the line.
The horror show continued for the Knights when Korbin Sims went off after a head clash with Tom Burgess and a moment later Inglis ran in untouched for his third try.
The Knights conceded another three tries in the second half, with Tom Burgess becoming the first Souths forward to score a try as the Rabbitohs passed 40.
Johnston grabbed his second with 12 minutes remaining, out-jumping his opposite number off Reynolds' pin-point cross-field kick. Walker then grabbed his third to take the Rabbits past the half century.
