Cogger, who returned to the Knights at the end of last season after stints with Canterbury, Huddersfield and premiers Penrith, was reinstated as Newcastle's first receiver against Melbourne on Sunday night, at the expense of established half Jackson Hastings.

And while the Knights posted their first win of the season, 14-12, after withstanding a second-half comeback from the Storm, a candid Cogger admitted he wasn't satisfied with his own performance, in particular a dropped ball and a kick out on the full in the early exchanges.

"At the end of the day, you've got to play good every week," said Cogger, who was used as an interchange hooker in Newcastle's opening two games.

"It's no excuse for me coming in, being my first [starting] game, making those couple of errors that I did.

"We're playing in the NRL. We want to be a top-four team, or above that. So you can't come in and give someone a game and go: 'I hope he's going to be better for the run'.

"I need to be better than tonight. I know that.

"But as you continue playing more games, as the season goes on, the team and individuals should just get better. That's just natural."

Hastings showed by producing four try assists in Newcastle's 50-24 trouncing of North Sydney in NSW Cup that he has no intention of surrendering without a fight the jersey he had worn in 24 NRL games. And Cogger expects nothing less.

"That's the case across the whole playing group, in a lot of positions," Cogger said.

"There's competition for spots. But I think pressure is a privilege for every player.

"You want to embrace that ... it can only make you a better player if you go after that."

Knights coach Adam O'Brien was non-committal after Sunday's game when asked if Cogger would be given an extended run to establish himself as starting halfback.

"I don't need any headlines about chopping and changing and all of that," O'Brien said.

"I'll just enjoy that win, look at the video and go from there ... all in all, for the first week, I'm pretty with happy the way it went. It'll only get better."

After debuting for the Knights as an 18-year-old in 2016, Cogger has returned as a mature first-grader and with a premiership ring.

Now for the first time since he joined Canterbury in 2019, playing in 17 games that season, Cogger has a shot at a long-term stint in his preferred position.

But to do so, he will need to start putting his best foot forward, starting with Sunday's daunting clash against the Warriors in Auckland.

"Not the greatest personal performance, and probably not too much polish in how we played," was his assessment of the win against Melbourne.

"But we knew that coming into it. We just wanted to find a way to win, which we did, and hopefully that kick-starts our season."

It might not have been pretty, but it was certainly gritty, as Newcastle held their nerve for the final four minutes after a Tyran Wishart try made it a two-point ball game. "That's what it's about, a team-first mentality," Cogger said.

Like the Knights, the Warriors opened their account with a similarly rugged win against Canberra, and Cogger admitted an improved performance would be required across the Tasman.

"We're going to need to, because we're playing a pretty handy Warriors team next week and we won't have 20,000 Knights fans to cheer us on," he said.

Newcastle's players should need no reminding what a tough trip they are facing, having lost to the Warriors last year in their season-opener in Wellington, and then in the elimination final at Mount Smart.

In their past 16 trips across the "ditch", Newcastle have returned with two competition points only twice.

One of Cogger's main objectives on Sunday, in conjunction with five-eighth Tyson Gamble, will be to deliver the ball to skipper Kalyn Ponga when and how he wants it.

"We're working really hard to find the right combination, working to our strengths, and how we bring KP into the game," Cogger said.

"I know my strengths, and we've got a pretty good No.1 at the back, and I need to be able to help unlock him and free him up and put him in space. Because he usually comes up with the right play if you get the ball in his hands, in a good position."

Cogger is appreciating playing in a far stronger team than during his initial three seasons at the Knights, when the Knights collected two wooden spoons.

"I wouldn't change how I came through, but it makes coming back, on nights like tonight, even more special to see how far the club has come," he said.