Newcastle Knights in crisis as two more stars outed for season
Not only did the Newcastle Knights crash to a shock 18-12 loss to the gutsy Canterbury Bulldogs, they are in freefall on the ladder after losing two more players for the rest of the season.
Bulldogs
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bulldogs. Followed categories will be added to My News.
“I’m embarrassed”.
That was the cold hard truth from Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien as he torn shreds off his players in the wake of a shock 18-12 loss to last-placed Canterbury, accusing them of behaving with a “sense of entitlement”.
And a livid O’Brien wouldn’t even use a disastrous and season-ending double injury blow to dummy halves Andrew McCullough (hamstring) and Connor Watson (Achilles) as an excuse as he blasted his players with one of the heaviest post-match sprays in the Knights’ history.
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 >
With the Knights known for having one of rugby league’s most loyal supporter bases, OBrien conceded: “I’m embarrassed for the people who sat out in that rain for 80 minutes. It is not good enough.”
While the gutsy Bulldogs snapped a six-match losing run to record only their second win of the season, the loss continues the Knights up-and-down year where they haven’t won back-to-back games since the opening two rounds.
‘SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT’
It’s among the most cutting take downs from an NRL coach in memory. When you accuse players of having a “sense of entitlement, it rips right at the heart of a club’s culture.
But you wouldn’t criticise O’Brien for saying it despite the Knights’ late fight back after trailing 18-0 heading into the final quarter.
For too long the Knights have found every excuse not to own their predicament. But it obviously doesn’t wash under this bloke who cut his teeth coaching at Melbourne and Sydney Roosters.
MATCH CENTRE: Full game details and stats
INJURY LIST: Full NRL casualty ward here
Asked if it was his toughest day as a head coach, O’Brien said: “Easily. I’m not just talking about the injuries, I’m talking about the attitude.
“We have lost two, I guess what you would call attitude games. We went to Townsville and probably looked at where the Cowboys were sitting on the ladder. And we thought we’d roll up to home looking at where the Bulldogs are.
“We have to work out what sort of team we want to be and what we want to get out of this season, because I feel like we are entitled to everything at the moment.”
Significant concern for a significant achilles injury for Connor Watson. Non-contact pushing off mechanism, even looks behind to see who “kicked†him (common feeling with achilles rupture). Will be easy test for medical staff in sheds, if confirmed surgery & 5+ months recovery pic.twitter.com/Vw36ttOQ98
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 26, 2020
Andrew McCullough off with nasty looking left hamstring injury. A few unfortunate points, up high on the hamstring & a “stretch†strain. Both require longer recovery typically, & concern for at least partial tear or tearing of tendon off the bone. Likely lengthy recovery ahead pic.twitter.com/HWO8DfkG4J
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 26, 2020
The Knights were in a similar position midway through last year before their season fell apart and it ultimately cost Nathan Brown his job.
But O’Brien wasn’t out to win friends with his summation of what’s going wrong for a club that hasn’t played finals football since way back in 2013.
“The team needs to understand, it is the NRL,” O’Brien said. “Any team can beat any team. I didn’t see it coming. I thought we had a really good week at training.
“But this sense of entitlement I think we have got at the moment, it is not so much to do with our training. I reckon it is in and around our training, during our week that I need to get to the bottom of.”
‘IT MEANS EVERYTHING’
It was only Steve Georgallis’s second game since taking charge from Dean Pay and he couldn’t have been prouder.
After taking a 6-0 lead into halftime, the Dogs surged to lead by three converted tries heading into the final 20 minutes before Newcastle came charging back.
And for the final 10 minutes Georgallis conceded he could hardly watch thinking his team would get their hearts broken again.
But for the first time since round four, they celebrated. “We didn’t even talk after the game, we just went straight into the team song,” Georgallis said.
“That’s how happy we were.”
Georgallis praised his middle forwards led by Aiden Tolman and Dylan Napa, while the experience of Kieran Foran was significant.
Foran is off contract at the end of the season but showed again if he stays fit he still has plenty of good footy in front of him.
INJURY DISASTER
With the Knights’ already missing first-choice hooker Jayden Brailey (knee), losing McCullough and Watson could be a hammer blow for their season.
McCullough had to be chaired from the field midway through the first half with his hamstring literally ripped off the bone, while Watson lasted less than 10 minutes before he suffered a ruptured Achilles.
In Fox Sports commentary, league expert Greg Alexander summed it up: “That’s as bad as it comes for Newcastle.”
Kurt Mann was terrific in their absence and the decision for O’Brien now is whether he sticks with Mann at hooker or returns him to five-eighth to take on Melbourne next Sunday.
The other option for dummy half is to call up one-game NRL rookie Chris Randall, or bring in Tex Hoy or Phoenix Crossland to No. 6.
One thing O’Brien knows: “There is no tougher assignment than playing Storm when they are going red hot. They aren’t going to feel sorry for us.”
TITLE HOPES WASHED AWAY?
It’s a final insult for long suffering Newcastle fans. After watching their team suffer one of the biggest upsets of the season, many were stuck in flood waters that surrounded the car park at McDonald Jones Stadium.
In some parts the water was literally waist deep with many cars unable to leave the ground and surrounding streets flooded.
Local emergency services surrounded the ground as the flood waters steadily rose in torrential rain.
‘I want to stay’: Barrett-led Dogs era excites Georgallis
Canterbury interim coach Steve Georgallis has signalled his intentions to remain at the club as part of Trent Barrett’s coaching staff.
Barrett is yet to finalise his support staff after being appointed Canterbury coach for the next three years earlier this week. Georgallis is an experienced assistant – having taken over the Panthers as an interim head coach in 2011 – and will take charge of his second game for the Bulldogs against Newcastle on Sunday.
“I’ve got some great memories at this club,” Georgallis said.
“I want to stay on. We won the 2018 (reserve grade) and national championships. I have a good relationship with a lot of the players.
“I would love to stay. I haven’t had a chance to speak with (Barrett) at all. He is focused on Penrith.”
Suggestions of John Cartwright again joining Barrett’s coaching staff having worked alongside each other at Manly appear off the mark. The Bulldogs still have a host of players off-contract at season’s end including Kieran Foran, Jack Cogger, Adam Elliott, Kerrod Holland, Marcelo Montoya, Sauaso Sue and Aiden Tolman.
Georgallis said he would offer any feedback Barrett wanted on these players.
“My job is to make sure the players we have here that are off-contract put their best foot forward to stay here,” Georgallis said.
“If he needs to ring me and ask about certain players that we have here I’m sure he will.”
Georgallis said Foran would be a “100 per cent” starter when the Bulldogs play Newcastle on Sunday afternoon after the five-eighth failed to finish their heartbreaking loss to St George Illawarra.
The Bulldogs will welcome back Jayden Okunbor from suspension with the winger expected to re-join the side at training as early as Tuesday once he has received clearance from the NRL’s biosecurity experts.
“He has done his time,” Georgallis said.
“From what I hear – I haven’t talked to Jayden personally – he is pretty remorseful. He is a young player, who made a mistake. A very big mistake.”
— Michael Carayannis