KNIGHTS legend Paul Harragon had one of the greatest man-to-man rivalries rugby league has ever seen.
His battles with Mark 'Spud' Carroll are part of rugby league folklore and were the showpiece of the Newcastle and Manly rivalry.
The enmity between the two clubs culminated in one of the game's most memorable grand finals in 1997, when the Knights ended an 11-game losing streak against the Sea Eagles to claim their maiden premiership.
A quarter of a century later, Harragon feels while the individual battles may not be what they used to, the rivalry between Newcastle and Manly lives on, and will continue on Thursday night at McDonald Jones Stadium.
"When we play Manly, we rise," Harragon says.
"That won't change. Out of respect for the memory and the past, that won't change.
"From '88 all the way through, that doesn't get lost. That is instilled in the club."
Harragon traces the rivalry's origins back to 1988, when Manly came to town for a game on the eve of Newcastle's inaugural season.
But he believes the clubs were always destined to be fierce opponents because of the city's working-class roots.
"They were coming up expecting a bit of a trial match, but obviously it was one of our first games so the crowd was massive, everyone was up," Harragon, who played 169 games for the Knights between 1988-99, recalls.
"It was a very physical game and I reckon that started it. But apart from that, we were polar opposites in respects to, [Manly] is a very affluent part of town, and [they] had a superstar, silver-tail strike to the team.
"We were very much blue-collar, all local blokes coming together, and a few extras ... from New Zealand and country NSW."
The Chief, as Harragon is known, says the rivalry "really heightened up" in the early to mid-90s with a number of personal battles, including his own with Carroll, before the famous '97 grand final.
"We just went for each other," he says.
"For a long time, even when Malcolm Reilly came [to coach Newcastle in '95]. Malcolm Reilly and [Manly coach] Bob Fulton were good mates, but were in opposition when they were playing for Australia and England.
"That's when it heightened really ferociously.
"And we were competitive then. They'd beaten us 11 times in a row before that grand final. We were getting closer and closer and closer, and of all the games to do it."
The former prop admits the rivalry somewhat eased in the following years, but mainly because Manly merged with North Sydney.
"For us players, the Super League war came in and they got merged ... and it all went pear-shaped," he says. "The immediate [rivalry] did."
Asked whether there are as many rivalries today compared to when he played, Harragon says team rivalries are just as much a part of the game, but personal ones are not what they once were.
"You hear a lot about Souths and the Roosters, St George when they play Cronulla, but maybe the personal rivalries are a lot harder to get together these days," he says.
"Before it was very much a slower game, the ref would give you five minutes to work it all out.
"The individual rivalries have maybe toned down, but I still think the team [ones are strong]."
Dane Gagai, who has played more games for the Knights than any other current player, says the Newcastle-Manly rivalry is alive and well, and is a game the players love taking part in, partly because of the memories it evokes for former players.
"You've got all the old boys around and what it means to them. The big Chief, I remember him and Spud going at it and that's still on the highlight reels," Gagai says.
"You represent that jersey and the players that came before you.
"You're just a caretaker of that jersey at that time and you don't want to let them down.
"So we'll be doing everything we can to get that win."
