BACK yourself in. Login or signup to continue reading That simple advice from Knights coach Adam O'Brien has inspired Cessnock rookie Fletcher Sharpe to hit the ground running in his first two top-grade appearances, which have delivered fine solo tries against Melbourne and Penrith. While the Knights lost both games, the 20-year-old fullback showed glimpses of his potential and appears to have leapfrogged another outstanding rookie in David Armstrong in the pecking order, in Kalyn Ponga's ongoing absence through injury.
Sharpe told the Newcastle Herald he was initially shocked by the pace of the NRL but already felt comfortable at that level. "The tries help," he said. "Adzy has just been giving me a pretty simple message, just to back myself if I see space.
"So that's what I'm doing." Sharpe is upholding a proud Cessnock tradition of producing players for the Knights. Andrew and Matthew Johns, Billy Peden, Rod Whitaker, Daniel Smailes, Josh King and Brodie Jones were all Goannas before they wore the red and blue.
"It's a pretty special feeling," Sharpe said of playing for the team he has supported his whole life. "I've watched that much footy down here. "I always grew up watching them, supporting them.
"I've made my way through the age groups and was lucky enough to stay on. "Every kid that grows up around here - it's a pretty footy-dominated area - grows up dreaming of making their [NRL] debut. And to do that for my home town, it's been awesome.
" A belated inclusion in Newc.