There hasn’t been much to smile about this year for Newcastle fans and especially sacked coach Rick Stone.

But prior to getting his marching orders, Stone praised boom rookie winger Jake Mamo.

“Whenever a coach gives you a wrap on a performance you take a lot out of it,” Mamo told nrl.com.

“At this stage of my career, you have to try and get confidence out of every single game to continue on my string of good performances.

“I do take lessons out of every single game I play in the NRL. Whether you’re losing by 50 or winning by 50 there’s always lessons to be learnt especially at this stage of my career.

“With there being a couple of us young guys here it’ll only make us stronger going through such things in terms of learning to be resilient.”