Blake Green injury takes shine off Newcastle Knights win against North Queensland
The Newcastle Knights are on the verge of their first finals series since 2013. But still, coach Adam O’Brien was almost reduced to tears in an emotional aftermath to their game against the Cowboys.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A shattered Adam O’Brien labelled it injury “carnage” after star recruit Blake Green became the latest luckless Newcastle Knight to suffer a season-ending injury.
On the verge of playing in the club’s first finals series since 2013, Green’s suspected ACL knee injury overshadowed a gutsy 12-0 win over North Queensland.
As Kalyn Ponga heaped more misery on his former club as the Cowboys slumped to their eighth straight defeat by setting up the only two tries with some spectacular fullback play, the win all but secured the Knights a place in this year’s top eight.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
But on a night when Newcastle should have been celebrating a rare milestone moment for a club that hasn’t had much to celebrate in recent years, O’Brien was instead on Sunday night heading into an emergency coaches’ meeting to try and come up with a plan to answer a mounting injury crisis.
With only five rounds of the regular season to go, O’Brien conceded “I felt like crying with him” after a “shattered” Green came to terms with his unlucky end in just his third game for his new club.
Green was set to play against his former club the Warriors in Tamworth this Saturday — but instead looks set for major surgery.
Given Green is also off contract at the end of the season, it couldn’t have come at a worse possible time — for him or the Knights.
Newcastle is already without Jayden Brailey (ACL), Andrew McCullough (hamstring) and Connor Watson (Achilles).
The win moved the Knights into sixth spot on 19 competition points and all but seals them a spot in the finals for the first time since 2013.
It also leaves them within strike of the top four, just a sole point behind the Roosters and Canberra who are locked on 20 points and placed fourth and fifth respectively.
But how to replace Green is the priority now.
DOWN FOR THE COUNT
“He is shattered,” O’Brien said.
“I felt like crying with him. I am getting used to it now though. I have had to do it a few times this year. It is carnage.”
And the question is what the Knights can do to fill the void.
Phoenix Crossland came off the bench and did a good job at dummy half with Kurt Mann switching back to five-eighth.
Young dummy half Chris Randall could come into the starting team with O’Brien leaving Crossland on the bench, while Mason Lino and Tex Hoy could both come into contention at six if O’Brien decides to keep Mann at hooker.
For weeks now everyone in the game has been debating what the reasons could be for the huge injury toll since the resumption from the COVID lockdown.
“I don’t know the answer but it is not good. It is a bit like soldiers getting repeatedly shot,” O’Brien said.
“It is unbelievable. I just feel for him at the moment.”
With no byes and 18 straight rounds, it has really developed into a survival of the fittest.
“There is not one variable, they are just all stacked on top of each other,” O’Brien added.
“The mental stress of how they are living at the moment. And it is all just … two weeks to get ready for contact. I think I said it at the time, it is going to be risky.”
BRAVE KNIGHTS
It wasn’t pretty but it was the type of win good clubs take at this time of the season.
“I thought we honoured the jersey we were wearing,” O’Brien said.
“We worked hard. We kept climbing back off the ground and finding a way to get it done for each other. To keep them to nil, I am very happy with our effort.”
COWBOYS LOSE EIGHT STRAIGHT
You couldn’t blame Josh Hannay for looking at the positives.
Although the fact Hannay conceded the difference between the teams was Mitchell Pearce does raise a question about Michael Morgan.
There was a time only a few seasons back when Morgan was the best playmaker in the game on the run to the 2017 grand final.
But on Sunday Hannay conceded: “I didn’t like our last plays.
“I thought our kicking game was poor … we worked really hard in the first half to give ourselves a chance. I thought we showed some effort and resolve there that we haven’t seen a lot of for a while at this club.
“That gave us a chance. And the second half I thought we lacked control with our last plays to build any pressure. And Mitchell Pearce did a really good job for them.”
The Cowboys also had their own injury concerns with Jason Taumalolo leaving the field with a lower leg problem.
— Paul Crawley
SPOON-BOUND BULLDOGS FAIL TO CAUSE A STIR
The New Zealand Warriors secured victory for their new community on the NSW Central Coast and for rusted-on fans back in Auckland.
But, most importantly, they won for exasperated supporters of the hapless Brisbane Broncos.
A 20-14 come-from-behind win over Canterbury on Sunday afternoon kept Brisbane away from the indignity and humiliation of being pushed to last spot on the NRL competition table.
The Bulldogs would have jumped one place from 16th with a win, forcing the 15th-placed Broncos to a position the club has never held so late in a season. It is inconceivable to think that Brisbane could be languishing so close to last spot during late August, a time when the club is usually preparing for finals footy.
Canterbury just can’t find a way to win. The Dogs’ bark is now a whimper. The Bulldogs led 10-0 with 2631 fans at ANZ Stadium believing Canterbury would finally exit the premiership cellar. Not so.
“We’ve got five weeks left to get off the bottom of the table and I’m going to pick a team that’s going to try and do that,” said Bulldogs interim coach Steve Georgallis. “We have been sitting here for the last six weeks saying it was ‘another one that got away’.”
The Warriors continue to show enormous courage and resolve despite being stuck in Terrigal away from loved ones. While unlikely, the Warriors can, mathematically, reach the finals. Now that would be some achievement.
ANGRY COACH AT LAST
For the first time since taking over from Dean Pay, Georgallis was filthy at fulltime.
The Bulldogs stayed close to the Warriors, as they have with nearly all opponents they’ve lost to in the past six weeks. In that time, the Dogs have lost 29-28 against Wests Tigers, 18-16 (Parramatta) and 28-22 (St George Illawarra). They beat the Knights 18-12. That’s four losses by a combined total of 15 points.
“We handed it to the Warriors in the second half,” Georgallis said. “I’m really disappointed … We have put a lot of work into our attack and defence over the past four or five weeks and I saw some progression and learning. But I didn’t see that today. They let themselves down, they let the club down.”
MORE NRL NEWS
Storm turn up heat on legend’s future
D-Day arrives for underfire Seibold
WONDERFUL WARRIORS
The Warriors continue to show mental toughness during the most difficult period in the club’s 25-year history. They could easily have collapsed on Sunday.
Bench player Jack Murchie scored twice, fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck sealed the win with a 62nd minute try, while Kodi Nikorima enjoyed three try assists. Each time Canterbury scored, the Warriors hit back.
“We just played tough in that second half,” said interim Warriors coach Todd Payten.
“It’s been a challenging season. I’m proud of the club and what we have stood for.”
NICK REGATHERS
Canterbury winger Nick Meaney endured a horror start — kicking the ball dead-in-goal from the kick-off — but he didn’t crumble. He made amends in the 16th minute when he scored a stellar try which included a super flick pass from centre Tim Lafai.
— Dean Ritchie