When the Newcastle Knights got over the top of the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs last Saturday, it wasn’t built on flashes of brilliance or moments of magic. It was built in the middle.
From the opening exchanges, the Knights’ forwards set the tone. Their carries were direct and forceful. Their defence was relentless.
Time and time again, they ran into heavy traffic and met it head-on, while in defence they absorbed pressure and returned it with even greater force.
It was dominant. And it laid a platform.
Because as the game wore on, something began to shift. The Knights’ spine weren’t just playing with structure – they were playing with freedom. But more than that, they were playing with confidence.
Not the kind of confidence that comes from trying to do everything yourself, but the kind that comes from knowing the hardest work has already been done for you.
They didn’t need to force things. They didn’t need to overplay their hand. They could trust what had been laid in front of them, and play off the back of it.
Watching it unfold over the weekend, it’s hard not to see something deeper – especially as we approach Easter.
Because that image of going straight into the toughest part of the field, of taking the hit so others can flourish, points us directly to Christ.
In the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, we don’t just see that Christ wins – we see how He wins: by stepping directly into the hardest place, and transforming it from within.
He doesn’t stand at a distance from suffering. He doesn’t wait for things to improve. He steps directly into the “middle” of it – into pain, rejection, betrayal and ultimately death itself. He goes first. He takes on what we could not.
And because he does, everything changes.
Just like the Knights’ spine didn’t have to manufacture opportunities out of nothing, we don’t have to rely solely on our own strength to navigate life. There’s a temptation to think it all depends on us – to carry the pressure, to force the outcome, to make everything happen.
But Easter offers a different perspective.
It reminds us that the decisive work has already been done.
That doesn’t mean we’re passive. The Knights’ backs still had to execute. They still had to show skill, vision, and composure. But they did so with a freedom that came from trust – a trust that the platform in front of them was solid.
It’s the same for us.
When we recognise what Christ has already done, it doesn’t make us complacent – it changes the way we approach everything. There’s a confidence that grows, not from self-reliance, but from knowing we’re not doing it alone.
There will always be moments in life that feel like running into a defensive line – moments where the pressure is real and the cost is high. Easter doesn’t deny that reality. It meets it head-on.
Because before there was space, before there was freedom, before there was victory – someone had to go into the middle and take the hit.
And that’s exactly what Christ has done.
