Smith Disappointed With Knights' Defensive Lapses

Newcastle Herald

Monday August 25, 2008

By ROBERT DILLON

NEWCASTLE'S finals charge will come to a shuddering halt on Saturday unless they can find a prompt solution to their second-half defensive woes against the Cowboys.

Leading 30-0 at half-time, the Knights inexplicably allowed their intensity to drop and started leaking tries at an alarming rate after the interval.

The Cowboys crossed in the 46th, 58th, 60th and 68th minutes and reduced the deficit to 30-18 and then 36-24, giving themselves an outside chance of a remarkable victory.

In the end, it took a Kurt Gidley penalty goal in the 76th minute to provide Newcastle with the safety of a 14-point buffer.

It was the second week in a row Newcastle's defence, which has been a cornerstone of their 2008 success, has been unacceptably brittle.

Last week Canberra racked up 38 points against them, but the effort against North Queensland will perhaps be even more worrying for Knights coach Brian Smith.

In the first half on Saturday night, Newcastle missed 11 tackles. In the next 40 minutes, they missed 32.

If the team running last can cause them so many problems, what will defending premiers Melbourne do to them at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday night?

Smith said the Cowboys deserved some credit for their attacking skill but conceded some of Newcastle's defensive lapses were "pretty shabby".

"I think the Cowboys did a great job," Smith said.

"They've been doing it quite a bit of late fighting hard.

"I thought they came out and played some really good footy, and we were distracted, perhaps, by the scoreline.

"Or maybe we just got outplayed. We did enough to get it back again and win reasonably comfortably on the scoreboard, but it was very disappointing."

Gidley was at a loss to explain Newcastle's defensive deterioration after half-time.

"I'd hate to think going into the second half we're worrying about how far we were in front," he said.

"I must say the wind made it hard to get decent field position, kicking into that sort of breeze. They just sort of blasted us through the ruck there and we were caught on the back foot several times."

With make-or-break games remaining against the Storm and Brisbane (away), Smith acknowledged the Knights would need to roll up their sleeves if they hoped to be competitive.

One positive for Newcastle was the goalkicking display by Gidley, who nailed seven goals from as many attempts.

In his previous four games, he had struggled with the boot, kicking only eight goals from 15 attempts and on several occasions handing the conversions over to Cory Paterson or Scott Dureau.

On Saturday night, he ignored the discomfort of an injured big toe to land goals from all over the field.

"It must have been the sore toe," he joked. "I'll get someone to stomp on it each week."

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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