NRL 2021: Newcastle Knights team news, Jake Clifford welcomes baby, Mitchell Pearce ready to fire

Knights playmaker Jake Clifford has shifted his focus back to Newcastle’s elimination final against the Eels after a “crazy two days” which changed his life.

Knights celebrate after their victory during the round 24 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans at Sunshine Coast Stadium, on August 26, 2021, in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

A 15-hour, 1500km trek from Suncorp Stadium to Townsville would have anyone feeling weary but it has given Newcastle five-eighth Jake Clifford all the motivation he needs to help spring an upset on Parramatta.

While halves partner Mitchell Pearce said the Knights’ playmakers are preparing to have “the game of our lives’’ on Sunday, Clifford has only just finished a journey he’ll remember forever.

The impromptu journey started when Clifford received a phone call from wife Stephanie that she had gone into early labour after taking on Brisbane last Saturday.

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“I finished the game on Saturday and jumped straight into the car with our welfare manager, Matty Morris, and he drove me to Rockhampton and I got in about 1.30 in the morning,” Clifford told The Daily Telegraph.

“Dad had travelled down to Rocky during the day to pick me up so when I got in at 1.30 in the morning, we swapped cars and he drove the rest of the way to Townsville. He got me into Townsville at 8.50am and I was in the theatre at a 9.15am having a baby.

Jake Clifford made it back to Townsville for the birth of his daughter, Naivy.

“It was pretty crazy two days. I thought I was going to have the Sunday to rest and prepare but bub had different plans, coming early on Father’s Day.”

The arrival of Naivy has Clifford determined to do two things, be the best father to his daughter and best footballer he can be for the Knights.

“I was just staring at her, I didn’t want to take my eyes off her even when she was sleeping,” Clifford said. “But that’s the first thing I figured out, when she’s resting, I should try to get some rest too. I just wanted to hold her and be near her all day.

“I’m so proud to be a father. It changes the way see life.

“Leaving them was pretty hard last night but I have a job to do now in the finals series.”

That job starts in Rockhampton in a do-or-die clash against the Eels on Sunday.

Up until last weekend’s loss to the Broncos, Clifford’s combination with Pearce had proven fruitful for the Knights. Since lining up alongside each other, the Knights have won five from the last six games.

Pearce, who helped guide the Roosters to a title in 2013, said he, along with Clifford and fullback Kalyn Ponga, are ready to put in the biggest performances of their careers.

“We need to have the game of our lives this week, me, Cliff and Kalyn,” Pearce said. “I’m absolutely ready for it. Cliff and I know, as the halves, we have to put the icing on the cake.

“I don’t want to talk about the past because we’re facing a new challenge now and that’s exciting but this year has been disruptive for us with injuries.

Mitchell Pearce’s big-game experience will be vital for the Knights against the Eels. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

“We’ve earned the right to be here, we finished 7th from 16 teams, we deserve this.

“The whole group knows that, we’ll go out this week and play with same effort we have been and know that is going take us a long way to winning.”

Clifford, who only joined Newcastle in June, is not only banking on Pearce’s big-game experience in what will be his first finals game, but on the rapport the duo have quickly built on and off the field.

“It was quick transition to go from one structure to another … when Junior [Pearce] was out injured and I was playing, we were catching up every day and talking, really connecting,” Clifford said.

“I feel like that connection is helping us on the field. He’s a premiership winner with an old head, playing alongside him I feel confident that we are going to a decent job.”

Originally published as NRL 2021: Newcastle Knights team news, Jake Clifford welcomes baby, Mitchell Pearce ready to fire