NRL 2021 Knights v Tigers: Wests spoil Mitchell Pearce’s 300th game party

Newcastle played like a team ready to hit the town rather than grind out a win for Mitchell Pearce’s 300th game. It’s simply not good enough, writes Paul Crawley.

Wests Tigers celebrate a try by Adam Doueihi. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Sorry, Newcastle fans.

But that in a nutshell is why the Knights are not yet up with the competition heavyweights.

Sure, they were missing some of their better players when they went down 24-20 to the gutsy Wests Tigers.

There was no Kalyn Ponga, no Blake Green and no Bradman Best.

But there was Mitchell Pearce. There was Daniel Saifiti and David Klemmer and Tyson Frizell.

And by anyone’s estimations this is still a team with enough ammunition on paper that, even under strength, should have had more than enough fire power to take care of a side that had been lapped by the Raiders and the Roosters in the opening two rounds.

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Mitchell Pearce was all smiles ahead of his 300th game...

... but so much after the narrow loss.

The Knights also had the added motivation that it was Pearce’s 300th NRL game and they were playing in front of a bumper crowd of 20,239 at home on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

In decades gone by, this was the type of atmosphere that the Knights used to really respond to.

Instead, they were shown up in attitude and execution by a team that will struggle to put together wins against any opposition this year.

This is not a crack at the Tigers either, because Michael Maguire’s team is where it is right now and they deserved the win here because they worked extremely hard for it.

And after the embarrassment of their start to the season it was a show of character that could really give them confidence going forward.

But in saying that, the Knights seriously have to take a good hard look in the mirror because they should be a whole lot better than what they showed against the Tigers.

If they all tried as hard as Frizell, Saifiti, Klemmer and Mitch Barnett there wouldn’t be a problem.

But it was as if some of the others turned up expecting it was going to be an easy afternoon.

And they played as though they were ready to hit the town rather than grind out a win against an opposition that had come to play.

The Knights were sloppy from pretty much the opening whistle and there were far too many errors until the final siren.

They finished up with 18 errors to the Tigers’ six and only completed at 74 per cent.

Even when they fought back to claim the lead heading into the final 10 minutes you never early felt comfortable they were going to get home – and that was with the big crowd cheering for them.

In the end, it was constant mistakes from some of their younger and less experienced players that brought them undone.

But this is also where leadership has to show the way for Newcastle.

The Tigers were hungrier and got the victory. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

If fairness, few expected Newcastle would be up with the top teams this year, but hope had grown after their impressive start.

Now, they have to take a step back and recalibrate.

The Knights have had a relatively easy run so far with wins over the Bulldogs and Warriors.

They now play the Dragons, Titans and Sharks before the real test starts in round seven.

That’s when they come up against the likes of the Panthers, Roosters and Raiders in a run of matches that will tell us exactly where the Knights are in respect to this year’s premiership race.

But Sunday’s effort against the Tigers certainly wasn’t a positive sign.

TIGERS AVOID SELF-DESTRUCTION TO NOTCH FIRST WIN

– Martin Gabor and Paul Crawley

It looked like they’d pressed the self-destruct button midway through the second half, but the Wests Tigers rallied from their own implosions to spoil Mitchell Pearce’s 300th game in the NRL.

The visitors had jumped out to an 18-8 lead but looked set to undo all their good work when Pearce scored with 17 minutes to go, before Adam Doueihi kicked off out on the full and then Tyson Frizell barged over to put the Knights in front.

But an awful error by Gehamat Shibasaki – his third of the afternoon – put the Tigers straight back on the attack, and they made no mistake from the scrum with David Nofoaluma crossing in the corner to secure his side’s first win of the season.

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They didn’t make it easy on themselves, but it would have been a travesty had the Tigers lost given their vastly improved effort compared to what they delivered in the opening fortnight of the season.

“It didn’t look good at times (in the first two weeks), but I know it’s within this group. What you saw out there today is what this group is about and what they want to be,” Michael Maguire said.

Wests Tigers celebrate a try by Adam Doueihi. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Daine Laurie was superb at the back, while Luke Brooks silenced some of his critics with two try assists and no mistakes in a polished performance that will do his confidence the world of good.

The oft-maligned halfback was very poor last week against the Roosters in both defence and attack, prompting speculation the club was looking to bring Jackson Hastings back from the English Super League to replace him.

But Brooks brushed the criticism aside to guide the Tigers to their first win of the season, easing some pressure on the club following back-to-back beltings to start the year.

“I was really pleased with Brooksy,” Maguire said.

“He had plenty going on around him, but one thing Brooksy did was put that aside and focus on what he needed to do for the team.

“The team rallied around him in the right way. They worked hard in attack and allowed him to get on the front foot and not have so much pressure on him.”

Mitch Barnett of the Knights celebrates a try. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Everything pointed to a big Newcastle win against a team they scored 86 points against in 2020, but the Tigers produced the ambush of the season to leave the heaving crowd stunned.

Brooks set up Doueihi with a pinpoint kick and then fired a flat pass to set up Stefano Utoikamanu for the first four-pointer of his career to ensure Joe Ofahengaue would be on the winning team for the first time since August, 2019.

NO FAIRYTALE

Michael Maguire was able to secure a crucial two points in his 200th game as coach, but it was a different story for the man of the moment, Mitchell Pearce.

The veteran playmaker ran through a guard of honour featuring his family, friends and teammates, and even had NRL CEO Andrew Abdo in the crowd to support him on his big day.

“I’m so grateful and thankful for the NRL for supporting me this week,” he said.

“The club has been really supportive, and from the boys and the staff, it’s been a really nice week so I really appreciate it.”

Pearce produced his trademark bombs and challenged the line whenever he saw some space, but he was badly let down by some of his teammates on what should have been his special day.

“It’s frustrating,” his coach lamented. “It was an important occasion for us. We desperately wanted to make this a memorable day for Mitchell.”

Mitchell Pearce in his 300th NRL game. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

ERRORS GALORE

They fought back valiantly in the second half and looked set to snatch an undeserved victory, but the footy gods ensured the better team won after the Knights shot themselves in the foot with enough errors to send a coach bald.

The hosts turned it over 10 times in the first half and added eight more errors after the break, compared to the Tigers who only made six mistakes in perfect conditions in the Hunter.

The schoolboy errors just did not stop, and it was fitting that their final opportunity ended when debutant Dominic Young – wearing jersey No.32 because his original jumper ripped in the warmup – turned it over cheaply.

“Unfortunately, we had some individuals that had some concentration errors,” O’Brien said.

Kalyn Ponga won’t return from a shoulder injury next week, with the superstar fullback set to meet his surgeon on Tuesday.

“I’m not going to rush him back based on results. We have a plan, and that is when the guys are 100 per cent ready, that’s when they’ll play,” the coach said.

Originally published as NRL 2021 Knights v Tigers: Wests spoil Mitchell Pearce’s 300th game party