It's the battle to end all battles
Greg Prichard
August 18, 2007
NEWCASTLE versus Penrith … Sure, it's not the biggest game of the round when it comes to positions on the competition table, but how would you like to finish last and get the wooden spoon?
It's got Penrith's name on it at the moment, but there would still be a way out for them over the last two rounds if they could beat the Knights at EnergyAustralia Stadium tomorrow. The Panthers would have been playing to get off the bottom of the table had they beaten North Queensland at home on Monday night, but you saw what happened there.
Leading by 10 points with five minutes to go, only to be reeled in and end up losing in golden point extra time … it was a lesson in why Penrith have failed this season. Poor decision-making and loss of intensity has cost them dearly.
Newcastle, running second-last, are four points clear of the Panthers, but here's the rub: the points differential of the Knights (-242) is the worst in the competition and more than twice as bad as Penrith's (-104).
Losing tomorrow would gift Penrith the spoon, but if they won then it would be game on in rounds 24 and 25.
Cronulla, St George Illawarra and Canberra could even be dragged back into the thick of the battle through a Penrith victory, depending on other results this weekend.
The Knights have gone through a horror period, on and off the field. They have lost five straight games and coach Brian Smith's player clean-out for next year has been under the spotlight. Player morale has been down off the field and commitment on it has slipped.
Even though Newcastle were playing a top team in Manly last round, it was obvious from the way they went about things that the Knights had let the situation get them down. Asked whether we should anticipate Newcastle lifting tomorrow - and, if so, how they proposed to do it - representative forward Steve Simpson was honest with his reply.
"You just have to put the blinkers on, try to shut everything else out and concentrate on the football," he said.
"I've tried not to read the newspapers this week and just focus on the game. It's been a tough month, and last week, in particular, was a really tough week. It was hard to focus and I think that showed.
"But we've made an attempt to put all of that behind us leading up to this game and concentrate on what we have to do and the focus has been a lot better. It has to be, because we need to win to avoid any chance of getting the wooden spoon. We can't make the finals, but avoiding the wooden spoon is certainly something worth fighting for.
"We got it two years ago and it's not a good feeling. We don't want to get it again."
Penrith may have lost a handle on the game in the dying stages against the Cowboys, but being competitive against them and winning the previous week against South Sydney is good form going into a game like this and the Knights are wary of them.
"Their recent form is a lot better than their position on the table suggests," Simpson said. "We're going to have to play at our best to beat them, because they've got some big, powerful blokes who run the ball well and [Craig] Gower is in form at halfback.
"I thought the effort was there from us early in the game against Manly, but things got away from us as the game wore on.
"Our defence has to be a lot better and our execution must improve, as well. We need to play a bit smarter and not waste our opportunities."
From:
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/its-the-battle-to-end-all-battles/2007/08/17/1186857781422.html
