IN quick succession, he has upstaged superstar rivals Cameron Munster, Jack Wighton and Matt Burton. Now Tyson Gamble has set his sights on shutting down Cody Walker and South Sydney's lethal left edge.
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Gamble, the feisty Newcastle five-eighth, has earned plenty of accolades for his energetic attack during their six-game winning streak, culminating in his two-try haul in last week's 42-6 victory against Canterbury.
But it will be his defence that is under scrutiny when the Knights host South Sydney at a sold-out McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
He will line up directly opposite the mercurial Walker, who has produced more try assists over the past four seasons than any player in the NRL. Chiming onto Walker's silky passes will be champion fullback Latrell Mitchell, centre Isaiah Tass and winger Alex Johnston. Those four players have scored a combined 48 tries this season.
When they are in the mood, there is no more potent strike force than Souths' left-side attack and Gamble, along with back-rower Tyson Frizell, centre Dane Gagai and winger Dominic Young, will be right in the firing line.
"Their left-edge attack has been one of the best in the comp for probably the last three, four or five years, obviously," Gamble said.
"It's a job that we have to be really good at - myself, Friz, Gags and Dommy.
"It's a challenge and it wouldn't be footy if you didn't have a challenge every week. It's something that we're going to have to really take pride in, and it's going to be tough to do. But I think we've been a really good defensive edge for a few weeks now and it's a challenge we'll be looking forward to."
Gamble and Frizell warmed up for Souths by containing towering Bulldog Viliame Kikau last weekend.
Frizell, who has racked up 64 tackles without a single miss in Newcastle's past two wins against the Dolphins and Bulldogs, is relishing the right edge's new-found resilience, which has been in stark contrast to last season.
"I think we've been doing a good job on the right side," Frizell said. "We try to keep out as many tries as possible down our side.
"We've got a good connection there at the moment, and we thrive on our defence.
"There are a lot of gun players that we come up against, but as a unit we're very comfortable about how we go about our work.
"And we'll need to be at our best coming up against their deadly left edge."
Gamble was hopeful the Knights would be able to tap into the energy generated by Sunday's capacity crowd.
"It's going to be a really good battle with Souths," Gamble said.
"Obviously they're in the same position as us, fighting to stay in the eight and hopefully play finals footy.
"So it's going to be a great contest, and the more people that we can get out to Mac Jones next week, the better it's going to be for us."
The 27-year-old former Brisbane playmaker said the Knights were well aware they would need to lift their game, describing their second haff against the Bulldogs as "awful" after leading 30-0 at the break.
"Finals footy is definitely looking positive for us," he said. "But with three games to go, we can't afford to drop off."
On Sunday he could find himself with a new scrumbase partner after Jackson Hastings injured an ankle against the Bulldogs.
Hastings has been named in Newcastle's squad but if he is a late withdrawal, experienced Adam Clune will fill the breach.
"If he is my halfback, I'm looking forward to playing with him," Gamble said.
"I trained with him a lot in the pre-season. He's played a lot in the NRL, so I think he slots in nicely if he does have to come in."
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