NEWCASTLE coach Wayne Bennett believed the Knights had left themselves plenty of room for improvement from their 18-all draw with Penrith in the NRL trial at Port Macquarie Regional Stadium.
Both teams scored three converted tries each in humid conditions that contributed to sloppy handling and made it difficult for either side to establish any territorial advantage for extended periods.
The lack of cohesion was also due to Bennett and opposing coach Ivan Cleary both juggling squads of 20-plus players in their first games in charge of their respective new teams.
"Nothing to get excited about," Bennett said, when asked for his first impressions as Newcastle's coach.
Star recruit Darius Boyd set up Newcastle's second try with a long cut-out pass for winger Kevin Naiqama in the 23rd minute, and captain Kurt Gidley's sideline conversion levelled the scores at 12-all.
Boyd looked sharp playing the first half at fullback, was rested for about 20 minutes, then finished the game alongside Jarrod Mullen in the halves.
Gidley and returning Knights Danny Buderus, Timana Tahu and Kade Snowden played the first half and were replaced uninjured at half-time so Bennett could scrutinise the performance of other players in their positions.
A James McManus converted try from Tahu's pass gave the Knights a 6-0 lead in the fourth minute then the Panthers hit back with converted tries by Travis Burns and Michael Gordon in the 10th and 17th minutes to take a 12-6 lead.
Matt Hilder's converted try in the 60th minute broke the 12-12 half-time deadlock then the Panthers levelled again in the 68th minute when prop Chris Armit crashed over next to the posts and Gordon converted.
The best chance for either side came in the 78th minute when Knights back-up hooker Chris Adams tried to burrow over from dummy-half but he was tackled just short of the line.
"A few things to work on - we dropped a bit of ball in the first half, which is a bit disappointing so we need to work on that," Gidley said.
Newcastle's only immediate sigfnificant injury concern was a suspected fractured eye socket to replacement halfbackTyrone Roberts and he will have precautionary scans on Sunday.
Penrith centre Michael Jennings was reported for a dangerous throw.
KNIGHTS 18 (J McManus, K Naiqama, M Hilder tries; K Gidley 2, T Roberts goals) PANTHERS 18 (T Burns, M Gordon, C Armit tries; M Gordon 3 goals) at Port Macquarie Regional Stadium.
Half-time 12-12
Crowd 6383
Referees Shayne Hayne, Steve Lyons
Email a friend