Round 1: Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks

[Ethan]

If Herman was to blame for the break straight through the ruck, then that was pretty bad.

Said it before but a bench of Mann, Dan, Guerra and Sione/Barnett doesn't excite me too much.



LOL, really?

Yeah maybe he didn't want to show all there cards until it counted and that's how it looked in that game . Hardly saw Pearce do anything , and the forwards looked to be cruising .

 

[Ethan]

Maybe they would have gone all out if they weren't playing that team in the first round and Morris did say that he was worried about complacency in his side after that trial maybe that's what Brown was hoping for.. a we cant lose state of mind from the sharks players …

 

[Kurriboy]

Yeah maybe he didn't want to show all there cards until it counted and that's how it looked in that game . Hardly saw Pearce do anything , and the forwards looked to be cruising .

If they were going for the psychological warfare angle, they would have not shown much in attack, and muscled up in defence to punish them and shut them down.

I have concerns about how our defence is going to be. If this game was a joke to the team, why is Herman getting dropped for his performance in it?

 

[rhugh89]

Newcastle Knights v Cronulla Sharks preview


NRL.com
Sat 9 Mar 2019, 09:48 AM


These teams squared off a couple of weeks ago in a trial won comfortably by the Sharks so it'll be interesting to see what happens with the stakes raised.

After adding Tim Glasby, James Gavet, Dave Klemmer, Jesse Ramien and Edrick Lee in the off-season, the heat is on coach Nathan Brown to guide the Knights into the top eight at the very least.

The Knights were no match for Cronulla a fortnight ago and Brown would've done his homework to make tactical adjustments for this clash.

Unlike most of his coaching peers, Sharks coach John Morris is virtually under no pressure in 2019 after taking over from Shane Flanagan halfway through the pre-season.

He seems to have his team all on the same page and has a playing roster good enough to emulate last year's top four finish.

The Rundown

Key match-up

Connor Watson has his hands full against Sharks fullback Matt Moylan, while Chad Townsend will relish his halfback duel with Newcastle's Mitchell Pearce, but most eyes will be on the battle between opposing five-eighths Kalyn Ponga and Shaun Johnson.

For the Knights to win

Brown will be counting on the likes of Klemmer, Glasby and Gavet to make plenty of inroads up front to allow Ponga and Pearce to do their thing. The Sharks don't often beat themselves and the Knights need an 80-minute effort of sticking to the game plan.

For the Sharks to win

The new-look halves combination of Townsend and Johnson might take time to click but the early signs are certainly promising. If the workmanlike Cronulla pack overpowers the Knights forwards, the Sharks should have too much firepower in the backs.

And another thing

No-one questions Josh Dugan's abilities on a football field, but the problem for the injury-prone Dugan is that he's not on the field often enough. In five years with the Dragons he played just 85 games and last year he managed 14 in his first season with the Sharks. He will be crossing his fingers that he plays the entire season.

Knights Stat Attack

After establishing himself as a solid first-grader in 2017, Lachlan Fitzgibbon earned a reputation as one of the NRL's top tryscoring forwards. The 25-year-old back-rower scored nine tries in 21 games, made 12 line breaks and finished the season with an impressive 89.8 per cent tackle efficiency.

Sharks Stat Attack

Love him or loathe him, Andrew Fifita is one of the game's most damaging players. Last year the 29-year-old prop was a model of consistency, making 117 tackle breaks and averaging 14.8 hit-ups per game. He was one of the leaders in post-contact metres and recorded an excellent 92.9 per cent tackle efficiency.


https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/03/08/newcastle-knights-v-cronulla-sharks-preview/

 

[josh2010]

would be interesting to see how many tickets are sold to this game!

 

[Joshhh]

If Ese'ese is left out, I hope it's just a statement from Brown to the playing group that you have to perform. Because no matter how he played in a one off trial match, we all know he's one of our best 17 players & we're a better chance of winning with him there over Barnett/Sione. Surely Brown knows this too being the coach.

 

[danknights]

I personally think browns an idiot if he leaves Herman out. You send your best 17 out everytime. Here comes the whole brown can't coach thing.

 

[Grandpa Joe]

We'll see the usual 21 man squad, don't be suprised if a couple of bolters get named to give a couple of regulars a scare(AKA Ese) and they end up playing game day.

 

[Joel]

I personally think browns an idiot if he leaves Herman out. You send your best 17 out everytime. Here comes the whole brown can't coach thing.

Brown deserves every bit of criticism this season and so do all of the players. He hasn't done anything yet in terms of consistency other than recruitment and that can only go so far. We've all backed him long enough to not expect quality week in week out this year.

Also in regards to Ese'ese I'd like to still think we can match rival packs even without him there. I'm keen to see if the go forward is still there from the Maitland trial.

 

[Billy]

We'll see the usual 21 man squad, don't be suprised if a couple of bolters get named to give a couple of regulars a scare(AKA Ese) and they end up playing game day.

The 21 will be interesting.
They usually name a forward, a back and a spine player in case of training injuries. Eseese at 18 is easy. 19 could be Moga because I can't think of another back. 20 will probably be Buhrer to cover hooker and 5/8 if we are desperate. King will probably be 21.

 

[danknights]

Brown deserves every bit of criticism this season and so do all of the players. He hasn't done anything yet in terms of consistency other than recruitment and that can only go so far. We've all backed him long enough to not expect quality week in week out this year.

Also in regards to Ese'ese I'd like to still think we can match rival packs even without him there. I'm keen to see if the go forward is still there from the Maitland trial.

All the players seem to think he has a feel for attacking structures and principals. Will be interesting too see how his coaching goes this year since the cattle have arrived as you said.

Round 1 is go hard or go home from me. Sending messages after 1 trial is a bit silly. Let's get a game or 2 under us before we start making rash decisions.

 

[Joey1245]

I personally think browns an idiot if he leaves Herman out. You send your best 17 out everytime. Here comes the whole brown can't coach thing.

Maybe Herman isn’t In the top 17 atm?

 

[slotmachine]

No fan of sione as a player but if toohey's articles are correct he's copped some shabby treatment.

Apparently goes great in pre-season and looks to be favourite for a starting spot on an edge.
Gets asked to play centre in the trials as 4th choice so Barnett gets an opportunity to state his case.
Now Barnett goes well in the trials and might have a nose in front for starting gig, while sione was denied a chance to impress.

 

[packo]

Maybe Brown said to the boys , Show them nothing today boys lull them into a false sense of achievement and we will stick it to them when the real points are on offer .

Obviously wasn’t there but you’re joking

 

[slotmachine]

Nah it's great we got flogged by the team we play in a week.

Last year we stank in the trial and got lucky in round 1 to beat the team that ran second last.

 

[R_A]

Just like when we beat the Raiders 44-0 in a trial and still won only five games and came last.
Least it helped us beat the Raiders that year

 

[slotmachine]

beat a raiders third string side you mean

 

[Billy]

Senior players don't put their bodies on the line in trials. They'd be crazy if they did.
Young blokes sometimes go out and try to make a name for themselves, but most guys are just getting a feel for playing footy again and avoiding injury.

 

[mozza]

beat a raiders third string side you mean

They were actually close to full strength for the first 20. Means **** though as both teams sucked that year.

I’m not confident we’ll beat Cronulla but I’m certain that we’ll be much, much better than we were in the trial.

 

[88Knight4life]

Senior players don't put their bodies on the line in trials. They'd be crazy if they did.
Young blokes sometimes go out and try to make a name for themselves, but most guys are just getting a feel for playing footy again and avoiding injury.

Then how did we get belted by a aging sharks side?