Fullback Kalyn Ponga says Newcastle needs to play smarter as they near the NRL finals, after losing their fourth spine player to a season-ending injury.
The Knights toughed out a 12-0 win over North Queensland at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday but it cost them newly signed five-eighth Blake Green to a suspected ACL injury.
In three games Green had an immediate steadying impact on the side, freeing up halfback Mitchell Pearce and allowing space for Ponga to roam.
However with him joining Andrew McCullough, Connor Watson and Jayden Brailey in the Knights’ casualty ward, their spine is again in disarray.
Ponga said his connection with Pearce will need to be as strong as ever and the team is determined to keep improving despite the setbacks, over the next five weeks.
“We’ve got to keep building, we’re not content with where we are now,” he said.
“We definitely need to be on a steep incline heading into the finals. Yeah, we’re tough but we probably need to be a little bit smarter.
“We’re proud of our efforts but we just need to be smarter.
“Maybe in the past couple of years we wouldn’t have used it as an excuse but we probably wouldn’t have been as resilient as we are now.
“We’ve still got five games to go, we’ve still got a job to do.”
The Knights left plenty of points on the field against North Queensland but coach Adam O’Brien said he didn’t care about the attack as long as they got the win.
Green is the second replacement player to be struck down for the Knights this season after former Brisbane hooker McCullough tore his hamstring after eight games.
Both are off-contract at season’s end and O’Brien thinks they have plenty to offer an NRL side if they wish to kick on.
“What (Green) did for us straight away, he’s had a great season … Had an impact with us straight away. I definitely think he can overcome it,” he said.
“Andrew McCullough is in the same boat, he was outstanding.
“Both of those guys, if they chose to go that way, then they certainly offer a lot.”‘
Meanwhile, Origin prop Daniel Saifiti will be close to ready to play the Warriors in Tamworth next week but O’Brien said he wouldn’t risk him unless he was totally fit.
