KNIGHTS coach Wayne Bennett says his squad for round one is virtually settled but Newcastle will need to improve ‘‘a lot’’ on their pre-season performances against Penrith and Cronulla.
The Knights beat the Sharks 22-18 in a trial at Muswellbrook on Saturday night, having drawn 18-all with the Panthers in Port Macquarie seven days earlier.
They now have the weekend off to regroup and prepare for their blockbuster season-opener against St George Illawarra at Hunter Stadium on Thursday week.
Bennett offered a blunt appraisal of Newcastle’s performance on Saturday night, answering ‘‘not really’’ when asked if there had been any aspects that impressed him.
‘‘It was pretty similar to what we did [against Penrith] in Port Macquarie, so we’ve started to make an improvement,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘That’s good ... but overall it was a trial match and that’s what you kind of expect.
‘‘We were better than last week and that’s what I was looking for.
‘‘We’ll need to be a lot better in a couple of weeks’ time. Hopefully we start the season and that’s where we’re at.’’
Newcastle broke an 18-all deadlock in the 80th minute when skipper Kurt Gidley passed to centre Timana Tahu, who scored from close range.
Newcastle’s other tries came in the first half from wingers Akuila Uate and James McManus and prop Kade Snowden, all of which Gidley converted from out wide to give the Knights an 18-6 lead at the interval.
Cronulla hit back with tries by Sam Tagataese and John Morris, converted by Todd Carney, leaving the Knights facing a second consecutive 18-all deadlock before Tahu scored just before the full-time siren.
Heavy rain in the first half created slippery conditions and both teams struggled with their ball-handling.
‘‘When you’re making that many errors, you have to do something defensively,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘We handled that part of it OK.’’
Bennett said his new-look backline showed glimpses of potential in the early stages but ‘‘lost their way a little bit after about 20 minutes with their shape and their movement’’.
He said the main positives to emerge from Saturday’s hit-out were: ‘‘A bit of match fitness and I’ve kind of got a pretty fair idea now of what our team will be, so that’s what I’m looking for.’’
Bennett has trialled close to 30 players over the past two weekends and will now have to whittle them down to 17 for the season kick-off.
Rookie back-rower Alex McKinnon could be a bolter judging by his display on Saturday night. The 20-year-old, who played three NRL games for the Dragons last season before following Bennett up the F3, is still eligible for the National Youth Competition but appears ready to establish himself in first grade.
Newcastle’s main injury concern is rugged lock Neville Costigan, who hurt a shoulder on Saturday night.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, who like Bennett is trying to get a host of new signings to gel as a unit, said he was ‘‘not too disappointed’’ with the result or the performance.
‘‘We weren’t at our best, but we were OK. We showed a little bit of what we can do in the second half,’’ he said.
Email a friend