Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has called out his key playmakers for missing their assignments in the NRL loss to the Sydney Roosters.
The last-placed Knights were competitive for the opening hour at Allianz Stadium before being handed their eighth consecutive defeat – the longest winless run of any NRL team this season.
Brown said the Knights’ small men – fullback Nathan Ross and halves Brock Lamb and Trent Hodkinson – failed to match the efforts of their forward pack.
“They just missed an assignment they needed to do, that’s all. I thought our forwards, to hang in there like they did I thought they did a great job,” Brown said.
“Some of our blokes in key positions didn’t reward them for their effort tonight. They didn’t get the reward they deserved because we certainly put a lot in.”
The visitors got off to bright starts in both halves but struggled to convert their pressure into points and, in turn, opened more easily when asked to defend their line.
Brown rued two particular chances in the second half.
“The start to the second half – we had a good opportunity to score that first set, whether it’s the pass or the timing but Joe Wardle should’ve scored there,” he said.
“They jagged that lucky try at 16-4, but then we make the line break, and none of our key players turn up in the line break again, in a key moment of the game. That was really disappointing.
“I thought our halves and fullback should’ve turned up on those occasions.”
New signing Shaun Kenny-Dowall was solid in his first outing in Knights colours, scoring his team’s only try from a Dane Gagai grubber.
“He had a couple of things where he was a bit rusty, which you’d expect. He hasn’t played a for a few months and playing with some new personnel,” Brown said.
“He had a couple of carries when the pressure was on that got us out of trouble and got us in a position to make that line break.
“At 16-4 we were really under the pump but it was his carry that helped us get going, get the momentum to put us in the contest. That’s what he’s done for the Roosters for a long time.”
Compounding the defeat was a heavy concussion for winger Chanel Mata’utia that stopped play for about five minutes but he was later cleared of any serious injury.
In positive news for the club, the NRL is expected to announce the sale of the Knights to Wests Group over the weekend.