A 90.32 percent success rate – the best in National Two. Hurrah, a rare bright spot in a dismal season to date!
If ever a player received the kiss of death that was it.
It was akin to a football manager receiving the dreaded vote of confidence from the chairman – you just felt that the game was up.
So when Knowles was presented with an opportunity to kick a match-winning penalty, almost in front of the posts, deep into injury time there was this awful sense of "here we go."
True to the jinx, the ball sailed harmlessly past the upright. It could have carried on to Dean Clough as far as Knowles was concerned – he never wanted to see that particular matchball again.
With that kick went Halifax's best chance of securing only their second win of the season, and as it was they lost and Nuneaton were happy to vacate bottom spot in the National Two table and allow their hosts to move in.
No blame whatsoever should be attached to Knowles.
As prop Adam Blades quite rightly pointed out after the final whistle Halifax, the team as a whole, should never have been in a position to rely on a last ditch pressure kick.
In fact, the whole scenario was symptomatic of Halifax's day.
Skipper Danny McGee failed a late fitness test which meant Iain Gordon was drafted in at centre with Knowles reverting to his normal role at full back.
Then, an hour and a half before kick off, winger Will Greenwood slipped down the steps near the dressing rooms and in thrusting out a hand to stop his fall, connected with a glass that had been left on the rail resulting in a badly cut hand that required several stitches.
With resources already stretched Greenwood was bandaged up and sent out to play, the suggestion he might require a trip to A&E only being raised after the final whistle.
But, to be brutally frank, this was a poor Nuneaton side and the fact that Halifax were unable to turn them over on their own turf has to be a cause for concern.
The familiar figure of former Halifax RLFC ace Mike Umaga, making a welcome return to Calderdale as head coach of the Midlands outfit, oversaw his club's first victory of the season.
And while the tactics were primitive, they were still too good for Halifax to contend with.
The only low point for Umaga and his men was the sad sight of flanker Damien Taylor being loaded into an ambulance having suffered a serious fracture of an ankle midway through the second half.
Nuneaton gave themselves a platform after just four minutes, Halifax giving a way a number of penalties and scrum half Huw Thomas making them pay with a massive punt from just inside the Halifax half for a 3-0 lead.
Points at whatever cost were the order of Nuneaton's day and they duly doubled their advantage after a period of sustained pressure with stand off Robert Cook working space for a successful drop kick.
Halifax's response was swift and positive. Good pressure led to Nuneaton straying offside but Knowles, perhaps with a foretaste of things to come, slammed his kick flush against an upright and back into play.
The home pressure did pay off with Knowles nailing his next kick, but Nuneaton immediately set about repairing the damage, thanks to some careless Halifax play.
A long kick into home territory should have been meat and drink for Dave Hall, but in attempting to pick up the ball close to his own line he slipped on the greasy surface and knocked on.
Nuneaton worked the position with some style, switching play and catching the Halifax defence napping for winger William Cave to plunge over on his debut.
Centre James Endersby was showing as much attacking intent as anybody in the Halifax ranks and he, on a couple of occasions, showed there was very little substance to the visiting rearguard if players were willing to run at them.
Craig Aikman cottoned on to that fact and after a good chip and chase was blocked he made his next run count, easily ghosting over for Knowles to convert.
Knowles then terrorised the Nuneaton back line with a superb run that needed stopping illegally and the full back made the visitors pay with the penalty that edged his side in front at 13-11.
Everybody in the Halifax side then fancied their chances of punching holes through Nuneaton's defences, but to the visitors' credit they regrouped well.
That sowed the seeds of doubt in Halifax minds and they failed to turn the screw, Nuneaton instead able to wrestle back the initiative.
The fact that Halifax didn't help themselves with errors and wrong options helped enormously.
The home side heaped the pressure on themselves and when desperation in defence again caused them to infringe, Thomas was happy to kick a simple penalty to hand his side a useful 14-13 lead at the interval.
Halifax showed signs of imposing themselves on then game early in the second half, Knowles kicking them ahead with a penalty after 47 minutes.
But this strange lack of conviction that has dogged Halifax so often this season surfaced again and Nuneaton once more looked the more likely to score.
Play was rarely conducted in the Nuneaton half and as a result the visitors were able to get away with a host of handling mistakes then regain the lead through a second opportunist drop goal from Cook.
The passage of play leading up to that point saw the unfortunate Taylor suffer his injury and it took some time to move him from the pitch such was the extent of the problem.
Halifax still showed in bursts that they were capable of causing Nuneaton problems but failed to back up their promise with any conviction.
A great move then split Halifax wide open, Simon Brocklehurst and Jody Peacock showing great hands to bring Aaron Takarangi bursting though on the blindside and he romped in under the posts for Thomas to land a simple conversion.
It summed up Halifax's afternoon when Knowles and Greenwood clashed going for the same high ball although there was renewed hope when eager replacement Dan Solomi drove over after Eaton's kick to the corner had set up the position, Knowles converting to trail 24-23.
Halifax immediately put themselves under pressure when a high tackle followed by back chat gave Nuneaton the chance to add a penalty but Thomas snatched at the kick which was low and horribly off-beam.
The game was poised for a dramatic finale and when Nuneaton were caught offside in a vulnerable position it seemed a certainty that Knowles would add the winning goal in front of the posts.
But a kick he has practised a thousand times or more eluded him and Nuneaton, and Umaga, were left to celebrate a sweet victory.

Star Player
On a day when Halifax again failed to show up for the full 80 minutes, it is difficult to pick three players who shone throughout the match.
But one player who was always looking to be involved in the thick of the action was centre James Endersby.
Shorn of partner and skipper Danny McGee through injury, Endersby set about the task of leading by example with some solid running and even better tackling.
His awareness wasn't too bad either, whether it was spotting and thwarting a final Nuneaton pass or tracking the man in possession, the former dual code star was not found wanting.
Craig Aikman wants a smaller shirt – one of those skintight jobbies international players wear. So many times this season he has been stopped by opponents grabbing a handful of material and preventing certain tries.
He was always looking to probe for the openings again, and once more he was held back. But there was nothing Nuneaton could do about his trademark burst and run for the line that left the opposition in his wake.
Prop Adam Blades rarely puts a foot wrong – he is too experienced a campaigner for that.
His workrate is up there among the highest every game and although he too is suffering from the current slump Halifax find themselves in, he will always be found pushing, shoving and agitating for all he is worth in an effort to put his team on the front foot.

Match Facts
Halifax: Knowles, Hall, Endersby, Gordon, Greenwood, Eaton, Aikman, Blades, Kay, Jenkins, White, Harrison, Skillen, Lewis, Moon. Replacements: Solomi (Lewis 63), Townsend, Brown (Moon 51), Kilbane (Jenkins 63)
Tries: Aikman, Solomi
Con: Knowles (2)
Pens: Knowles (3)
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Nuneaton: eacock, Takarangi, Brocklehurst, Douglas, Cave, Cook, H Thomas, Fowles, Bray, Hartland, Solomon, Griffiths, Taylor, Critchley, Holmes. Replacements: Wright, G Thomas, Southwell (Taylor 57), Wright.
Tries: Cave, Takarangi
Cons: Thomas
Pens: Thomas (2)
Drop Goals: Cook (2)
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Referee: Ian Robinson (RFU)

Player Points
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 11 Craig Aikman; 10 Joe Knowles; 4 Tom Eaton, Gareth Lewis; 3 Dave Hall, George Jenkins, Danny McGee, James Endersby; 2 Richard White, Matt Harrison; 1 Richard Brown, Phil Skillen, Adam Blades.