Kostjasyn, who had a go at coaching the side in case COVID forces Adam O'Brien to miss a game through the year, also commended the performances of new halves pairing Jake Clifford and Adam Clune, and paid recognition to winger Dom Young and prop David Klemmer.

The Knights led 16-10 at halftime following tries from Clifford, Young and 23-year-old back-rower Jirah Momoisea, but the wholesale changes made during the break allowed the Bulldogs - last year's wooden-spooners who were without multiple NRL regulars including Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr and Brent Naden - to creep back into the contest and level the score in the 60th minute.

"Overall it was a good first hit out for us," Kostjasyn said.

"Some of the things we wanted to work on through the pre-season defensively come out in our game. In particular, our younger guys in the second half showed a lot of resilience to defend our try line for a lot of tackles.

"I'm real proud of those young guys and excited for them. It's a big occasion when you get to play your first trial match at NRL level."

With unlimited interchanges, the Knights used 34 players on the night but started with a side that won't be much different to the one that plays against the Roosters in the opening round.

Halves Adam Clune and Jake Clifford both looked settled and were involved early with a Clune grubber earning a repeat set before Clifford scored the opening try after just two minutes.

Five-eighth Clifford went solo on the blind side from inside 10 metres to score towards the right corner.

The duo had other handy touches in their 40 minutes with Clune setting up Young for his try with a cutout pass.

"I thought Clune and Clifford were strong," Kostjasyn said. "It was good to see Cliff run the footy and get a try, and Adam had a nice little kick for a repeat set and an outstanding chase to save a try ... his effort to get back there was massive.

"They had limited minutes but had a couple of nice touches and will be better for the run. We'll look to build on it this week."

Dom Young, who Kostjasyn said prior to the game had earned a starting spot after impressing in pre-season training, showed his potential and went close to scoring another one or two tries.

Young, a part-Jamaican 20-year-old the Knights recruited from England before last season, debuted in round three last year and bounced back from injury to play another five games.

Monday's performance would have done his chances of securing a starting spot in round one, which he said recently was a goal, no harm.

"I was happy for Dom," Kostjasyn said. "He is a hard thing to stop once he gets going. It was good to see him get out there and put in a solid performance. Again, like everyone else, we want to see him build on that."

The Knights play the Storm in Ballarat on Sunday.

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