After a tumultuous fortnight that saw Nathan Brown resign as coach and included the humiliating 46-4 loss to Wests Tigers that virtually ended their finals hopes, the Knights gave the Gold Coast Titans a bath in miserable conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium.

On Old Boys' day, just 8274 fans - the lowest crowd since 1997 - braved the weather to see the home side thrash the Titans 38-4.

The Knights scored seven tries in the romp to give new interim coach Kristian Woolf his first win at NRL level after he only took full control of the team when Brown departed on Tuesday.

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Desperate to redeem themselves after the Tigers debacle, the Knights had plenty of outstanding players but none were better than backrower Mitch Barnett, five-eighth Mason Lino and prop David Klemmer while the return from injury of Connor Watson sparked the side.

The Titans played like a side that has now lost their past 10 matches and had no answers once the Knights got on a roll midway through the first half.

The Knights had the benefit of the conditions in the opening 40 minutes with the wind at their backs and driving rain into the faces of the Titans.

But it was the visitors who shocked the home side early with halfback Ryley Jacks crossing after just three minutes for a 4-0 advantage.

The Knights appeared anxious with Kalyn Ponga spilling a Gold Coast clearing kick under no pressure and a few minutes later, they lost 25 metres on the last tackle when they were attacking the Titans line.

It wasn't until Mitchell Pearce speared through a yawning gap off a David Klemmer second-man play for a simple try 12 minutes in that the Knights found some composure.

Winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall was denied a couple of times in close calls as the Knights gained some ascendancy before Barnett stormed over down the short-side from close range for a 12-4 lead 12 minutes from halftime.

It was then the Knights produced two long-range tries to blow the score out to 24-4.

Mason Lino played a part in both, taking an intercept close to his own line when the Titans were threatening to score for the first before surging up-field and finding Bradman Best. With the defence converging, he off-loaded to Hymel Hunt for a 90 metre try.

Then, with three minutes left before the break, Lino started a movement down the short-side with Barnett handling twice before Connor Watson charged over under the posts.

The Knights kept the foot on the Titans' throat and it was young Best who got in on the try-scoring act with his first four pointer in the NRL.

Best, who started the game in the centres, found space out wide and he easily pushed off Kallum Watkins to score.

It was 36-4 when Lino and Barnett again combined to put Sione Mata'utia over after 51 minutes.