The painful memories of Parramatta Stadium were wiped away for Andrew Johns and David Seage when the pair led Newcastle to a stirring 16-10 upset win over Parramatta.

Ironically this was the same ground where Knights captain Johns and fullback Seage both suffered season-ending knee injuries in a round three NRL match against the Eels last year.

But it was all smiles for the dynamic duo as Newcastle overcame a 10-0 deficit to score 16 unanswered points and then hung on for dear life as the Eels pushed for the match-levelling try in the dying stages.

"It was in the back of my mind and the back of David Seage's mind," said Johns about his return to Parramatta.

"It was good to get it out of the way. Both of us have been talking about it for a long time." Seage bombed two tries but that didn't bother his teammates after he pulled off a superb try-saving tackle on mountain man Aaron Cannings, who was bundled into touch in the 71st minute when he looked certain to score in the left corner.

The bottom-placed Knights - who moved three points behind wooden spoon contenders Souths on the ladder - were grimly clinging to a 16-10 lead at the time.

"I thought he was sensational," Johns said about Seage, who has endured a litany of injuries this season.

"He's had the worst luck so I'm really happy for him." Seage has had six operations on the left knee since the injury last year and suffered a broken hand and ligament damage to his elbow in a round 13 clash with Brisbane this year. "It was probably one of the best fullback displays I've seen for a long while," said Newcastle coach Michael Hagan.

The other intriguing sideshow to the match was the battle between the master and the apprentice - halfbacks Johns, 31, and rookie Tim Smith.

Johns won the contest hands down but Smith didn't disgrace himself, setting up Parramatta's tries to Paul Stringer and Timana Tahu in the opening 10 minutes.

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