NRL 2021: Newcastle Knights win 22-16 over Canterbury Bulldogs | Match Report

If Newcastle are struggling so much offensively against teams at the wrong end of the table, imagine what it’s going to be like against the big guns in the finals.

Newcastle has one foot in the finals, but they’ll only be making up the numbers in September if they don’t find a way to fix their issues in attack.

The Knights scrapped their way to an ugly 22-16 win over the Bulldogs to move four points clear of the seventh-placed Sharks, but the top teams won’t fear them after one of the most uninspiring matches of the year.

“I don’t know if we need breathing space,” Adam O’Brien said of his side’s ladder position.

“We need to get better and we need to add layers to our game, and in particular our attack.

“We’ve got some work to do, no doubt. But we’ve got the guys in the room that I believe in.”

The fact the first three tries of the evening all came from kicks tells you plenty about how clunky both teams were with the ball, and even the kicking game was awful with plenty of grubbers cannoning into legs.

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They took some time to get it going, but the Knights did enough to all but lock themselves into seventh spot on the ladder. Picture: Getty Images.

The Knights have plenty of attacking weapons but they seem to be lacking any bullets at the moment. Bradman Best never gets enough ball, Kalyn Ponga hasn’t been overly threatening lately and a number of plays broke down due to players running the wrong line on Saturday.

“With KP, it’s got to be more than generating ruck speed and giving him the ball,” O’Brien said.

“We’ve got to give it to him in the right moments, and it’s the same with Bradman and most of our guys.”

They were flat for 55 minutes, but at least they showed some encouraging signs with back-to-back tries to Best and Jake Clifford when they straightened things up on the back of David Klemmer who ran for a game-high 210 metres.

ONLY WAY IS UP

Saturday’s result means the Bulldogs will finish the season with the dreaded wooden spoon, with Trent Barrett’s side managing just two wins so far in 2021.

Things should improve next year with a number of quality signings set to join the club, but even they may not be enough to make a massive difference.

Trent Barrett faces a tough off-season as he plots their recovery, and the biggest question he must answer is how he plans on using Kyle Flanagan.

The young halfback’s confidence is down because he has been in and out of the team so many times this season, and it showed on Saturday with another quiet performance.

He offered little in attack and turned the ball over from the second-half restart when he failed to trap the ball, but he’s not the only problem at the Bulldogs who only came to life in the final few minutes.

Loan player Ryan James barged over from close range, before Jayden Okunbor set up a thrilling final 30 seconds when he flew through the air to spectacularly ground a kick that looked too heavy off the boot.

“I was really happy for Jayden. He came up with a really good try,” Barrett said.

“I think that’ll be good for his confidence.”

Jayden Okunbor may have scored one of the best tries of the season for the Bulldogs.

DISOBEDIENT DOGS

Barrett has voiced his frustrations over officiating a number of times this season, most recently last week when he questioned penalties against Sione Katoa and Ryan James.

But he needs to worry about his team’s ill-discipline, which was exposed again on Saturday night.

There were high tackles, late shots and ruck infringements, with Corey Waddell placed on report twice in the first half, including an ugly tackle on Ponga when he tried to rip his headgear off.

In his first game back from suspension, Luke Thompson was also placed on report with five minutes remaining for a crusher tackle. Any charge could end his season early.

Things are hard enough for the Bulldogs, but they’re making life impossible with needless penalties every week.

“The Thompson was unlucky,” Barrett said, conceding discipline may be an issue for his team.

“We do work really hard on popping the head out and making sure we don’t put that tackler in a vulnerable position, but a lot of players can get their head back in there and get a penalty so we have to be aware of that.

“We want to get that out of our game. I’d hate to see Luke Thompson go again for something like that because he does work really hard on it.”

Jake Clifford is really coming into his own for the Knights and has a bright future with the club. Picture: Getty Images.

KEEP THE FAITH: HOW KNIGHTS ARE BUILDING FROM WITHIN

—Michael Carayannis

An injury-ravaged Newcastle side have chosen to blood from within rather than source a short-term fix as coach Adam O’Brien prepares to hand out another debut which would be the most at the club since their disastrous 2016 season.

Young prop Jirah Momoisea will be the fifth Newcastle player to make his NRL debut this year when he runs out against Canterbury on Saturday, joining Dominic Young, Brayden Musgrove, Simi Sasagi and Matt Croker as first-year players in 2021.

That number is the most the Knights have blooded in the top grade since 2016, where 11 players experienced first grade for the first time in a season where Newcastle finished last with just one win.

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While some teams have been tempted by loans and short-term deals, the Knights have opted to promote internally.

It is part of the club’s plan to invest in the development of youngsters.

Jirah Momoisea will make his NRL debut for the Knights this weekend.

“We’ve shown a lot of faith in our young players,” O’Brien said. “Sometimes it doesn’t help with the result but it’ll help us as a club long-term.

“We are going to work really hard on our pathway programs and streamline our development.

“We are going to have to make up two years of their development because of Covid-19. We are putting a lot of extra expertise in that area.”

The Knights are without Lachlan Fitzgibbon (shoulder) and Edrick Lee (foot) for the rest of the season, while Daniel Saifiti (knee), Pasami Saulo (leg) and Tyson Frizell (suspended) are also missing this week.

This has prompted O’Brien to reach out to part-time player Croker to potentially fly him from Newcastle and join the rest of the squad in Queensland as the side mounts a finals charge.

“When I asked him about potentially coming up, it was at 9.30pm and he said he would get in the car and drive immediately,” O’Brien said. “He said quarantining for two weeks wouldn’t worry him. That’s what we want – kids who are desperate to get that Knights jersey on. We’re just getting clarification if we can bring him in.

Knights coach Adam O'Brien is backing his younger players instead of looking for loan deals. NRL Imagery

“With the injured players, we don’t want to send them home because we have our experienced medical team with us in Queensland. So it’s not only the physical but mental health of those rehab players. We may need some able-bodied players to help with preparation.”

Despite dealing with a horror run which has seen Saifiti, Frizell, Kalyn Ponga, Mitchell Pearce and Bradman Best spend large chunks of the season sidelined, the Knights control their finals destiny.

They sit in seventh spot and play the Bulldogs, Titans and Brisbane to finish the season.

“Hopefully we’ve gone through the worst of it,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot of upside to us in the next month given how little footy our spine has played together.”

Originally published as NRL 2021: Newcastle Knights win 22-16 over Canterbury Bulldogs | Match Report