NRL 2022 Round 2: Newcastle Knights beat Wests Tigers 26-4, match report
In the space of a week, the Wests Tigers lost all their teeth, and their poor display has instantly turned the spotlight back on coach Michael Maguire.
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Imagine if they had Kalyn Ponga.
And David Klemmer, Daniel Saifiti and Jayden Brailey.
In the end a reborn Newcastle side didn’t need four of their best to put a toothless Wests Tigers outfit to the sword 26-4 on their way to claiming back-to-back victories to the open the season.
The Knights in fact could enter round three on top of the table after jumping reigning premiers Penrith, who they face in Bathurst next week, with an impressive outing at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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For the second week in a row, halves Adam Clune and Jake Clifford combined for three try assists, while Tyson Frizell was arguably the best forward on the field.
It sets up a mouth-watering clash against the reigning premiers in Bathurst next week.
“The elephant in the room was the amount of guys that were missing,” coach Adam O’Brien said.
“We had seven players this week that didn’t participate in one training run, not even captain’s run. They just turned up to play today.
“We’ve worked really hard on our culture … that’s as good as a next-man-up mentality as I’ve seen from the boys.”
Their inspiring showing was in stark contrast to a Tigers side that looked out of sorts, rudderless, and committed schoolboy acts of ill-discipline that instantly turns the spotlight back on Michael Maguire.
One week after showing plenty of spirit against perennial contenders Melbourne, the Tigers submitted a comical display that doesn’t auger well for their immediate future.
Tigers legend Benji Marshall pilloried their lack of effort and expected changes to be made for next week’s match-up against another winless side in the Warriors in Campbelltown.
“There’s areas of that (lack of effort). Everyone’s got their opinion. We’ll have a look at how we played and what we need to do,” Maguire said of Marshall’s criticism.
Asked about changes so early in the year, he said: “I’ll have another look at the game and go from there.”
ALL OH KALYN
Already without their key duo in Ponga (knee) and Saifiti (leg), the Knights lost a third star pre-game when front-row spearhead Klemmer pulled out with a knee issue.
Second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon (knee) left midway through the first half with a knee problem.
But in front of a heaving crowd of 23, 214, the quartet were barely missed.
A week after turning in a man-of-the-match performance, Clifford picked up where he left off when an early grubber ricocheted back into his path for opening points in the fourth minute.
The Knights attack started as fast as the northerly behind them, with Frizell feasting on a Clune crossfield kick to double their lead soon after.
And while they left plenty of points on the field in a dominant first half, tries to Bradman Best, Dominic Young, and Dane Gagai continued the beatdown in the second.
TERRIBLE TIGERS
The only positive out of a terrible first half was that they were only down 14-0 at the break.
But by the fulltime siren, the Tigers fans were given little reason to hope for a rapid climb up the ladder in Maguire’s fourth season in charge.
A total 17 errors gave them no chance of victory, the worst of which was utility Tyrone Peachey’s mindless decision to swipe at a ball from an offside position that ended in him being sin-binned.
Tyrone Peachey sent to the bin! ðŸ—‘ï¸ Was it deserved? 💬
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They also blew two tries in the second half, including one when Stefano Utoikamanu dropped the ball over the line, before claiming a late consolation four-pointer through appointed captain Ken Maumalo.
Halfback Luke Brooks, who was denied a release late last year and was linked with a move to Newcastle all summer, struggled to make an impact in a badly beaten side.
Not one forward carried the ball for over 90 metres.
Compounding the defeat was five-eighth Jackson Hastings, who made a team-high 180 metres, being placed on report for a lifting tackle on Tex Hoy in the first half.
“It’s frustrating,” Maumalo said. “Last week we stated a blueprint on how we wanted to play. It was just a lack of preparation for us this week. We need to be better in that area, especially us as leaders. We need to drive that.”
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