ROUND 5: Knights v Dragons @ Hunter Stadium

NRL Late Mail ahead of round five: Team changes and gossip


  • TOM SANGSTER
  • NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA
  • APRIL 02, 2015 5:12PM

KNIGHTS v DRAGONS - Saturday, 7.30pm at Hunter Stadium

Knights:

All 18 players have trained and the Knights expect no changes, apart from Sione Mata’utia’s now-customary promotion from 18th man.

Dragons:

No injury concerns. The Dragons have a final session on Friday before travelling up to Newcastle.


http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...anges-and-gossip/story-fnp0lyn3-1227288916642
 
Alex McKinnon Cup a fitting tribute

Thu 02 Apr, 2015, 3:00pm

By Yvonne Sampson, NRL.com

Consider this.

It's a normal Monday morning.

You open your eyes, jump out of bed and tuck into your breakfast. There have been 22 years worth of days just like this.

Work is looming but rather than sigh and roll your eyes at the thought of it, you just cannot wait to get there.

It just happens that your workplace is AAMI Park in Melbourne – and your employer is the Newcastle Knights.

Your boss is the greatest. Wayne Bennett, who has been more like a father through your rugby league career.

It's closing in on kick-off and the nerves are bubbling away in the belly. Of course they are – it's a game of first grade against a formidable Melbourne Storm outfit.

It's all you can think about.

Jogging down the tunnel, the Knights supporters who've made the trip south are loud enough to make it feel like home.

The ref blows the whistle and it's time to get to work. You've done it hundreds of times before.

After 10 minutes the team's ahead and things are going to plan but before you know it the Storm have put on three tries.

"Gee, Wayne isn't going to be happy."

It's 30 seconds out from half-time. Then the unthinkable happens.

Those simple things you did that morning are now no longer possible.

Brushing your teeth, walking to the bus... even getting out of bed.

All because of a split second that was as tragic as it was inconceivably unlucky.

When we realised how serious Alex McKinnon's injury was, premierships and points suddenly didn't matter.

Arguments and differences between clubs and fans turned to solidarity as Australia's sporting community took a collective deep breath and prayed for Alex from Aberdeen.

But 12 months on and his story isn't one of pity and grief. It's one of fight and will.

Rugby league rose for Alex.

If you could personify the 106-year history of rugby league in one player, it would be Alex McKinnon.

A quiet, humble footballer from the Hunter Valley who has been dealt a cruel hand but has refused to give in.

It's hard to imagine how hard the last 12 months have been for his family.

The gauntlet of emotions from little wins and the heartbreak of little losses.

When we saw video of Alex standing up out of his wheelchair there was a quiet hope as his fiancée Teigan Power stood with him arm in arm.

At the time Knights coach Rick Stone told News Limited that Alex "...doesn't want to make a big song and dance about everything that he does".

And that's the mark of this incredible young man. His values are his foundation.

The Knights have been on a life-changing journey over the past year.

Alex was often seen sharing a moment in the dressing sheds with his teammates or watching pensively from the coach's box.

The Knights refused to let him be lost to the club.

One year on and now this mighty club from the Hunter is leading the Telstra Premiership outright, unbeaten and enjoying its best start to a season in 13 years.

Alex from Aberdeen IS our game.

The Aberdeen Tigers play at McKinnon Oval named after Alex's grandfather Mal, carefully mowed and tended to each week by Alex's dad Scott.

That's why it's fitting Newcastle are playing St George Illawarra for the Alex McKinnon Cup this weekend.

Regardless of who gets the two points, we can be very proud of that rugby league cares and honours our own.


http://www.nrl.com/alex-mckinnon-cup-a-fitting-tribute/tabid/10874/newsid/85048/default.aspx
 
According to good old Gavin Morris its going to be a wet night.

I think this will benefit us. It seems the only way teams can make any inroads against us is if they throw the ball around willy nilly.
 
NRL Preview: Round 5

Thu 2nd April, 02:47PM


NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS v ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS

Round 5 Alex McKinnon Cup, 2015 NRL Premiership
Date: Saturday, March 4
Kick off: 7.30pm
Venue: Hunter Stadium
Referee: Gavin Badger

Last time they met:

The Knights thrashed the Dragons 40-10 in Round 26 of last season on Old Boys Day at Hunter Stadium.

Head-to-Head:

Many consider the Dragons to be the Knights' bogey team and the records don’t lie – the Knights have only taken 10 wins away from 29 games against the Red V.

The Dragons have also won 13 of the 16 games they have played at Hunter Stadium.

Teams:

KNIGHTS

1. Kurt Gidley (c), 2. James McManus, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Akuila Uate, 6. Jarrod Mullen, 7. Tyrone Roberts, 8. Kade Snowden, 9. Adam Clydsdale, 10. David Fa’alogo, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Tariq Sims, 13. Jeremy Smith. Interchange: 14. Tyler Randell, 15. Chris Houston, 16. Pat Vaivai, 17. Jack Stockwell, 18. Sione Mata'utia.

DRAGONS

1. Josh Dugan, 2. Eto Nabuli, 3. Euan Aitken, 4. Dylan Farrell, 5. Jason Nightingale, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Benji Marshall, 8. Leeson Ah Mau, 9. Mitch Rein, 10. Mike Cooper, 11. Tyson Frizell, 12. Joel Thompson, 13. Trent Merrin. Interchange: 14. George Rose, 15. Jack de Belin, 16. Jake Marketo, 17. Heath L’Estrange, 20. Rory O’Brien.

Match Analysis:

The men in red and blue hardly have the best record against their opposition going into Saturday night but Director of Football Michael Hagan doesn’t think that has to have any bearing on the Knights’ attempts to make it five from five.

“The Saints probably have a different line-up to what they had last year, but if you cast your mind back to the end of the season last year Newcastle were fairly dominant against St George,” Hagan says.

Dominant is an understatement, considering how the Knights breezed home with two tries apiece to Timana Tahu and Sione Mata’utia. But as Hagan said, the Dragons line-up has changed.

“They always seem to play their best footy against Newcastle for whatever reason, so I think that gives you a good focus for our team to keep this streak rolling along,” he added.

The Dragons start to the season has been mixed - losing to the Storm and Tigers and scoring only eight points in the process – but have since gone on to beat the Raiders away and Manly at home.

In both games they showed plenty of character and desire, which have also been the Knights’ trademarks so far this season.

“The Dragons have some solid middle-third players and then they’ve got the likes of Josh Dugan, Jason Nightingale, Gareth Widdop and Benji Marshall that are running their attack,” Hagan explains.

“Josh Dugan on kick reception is the guy that starts their sets, and Trent Merrin offers a lot in the middle with his offloads and footwork, so they’re the two we really need to control.”

Merrin’s opposite number on Saturday night will be New Zealand hard-man Jeremy Smith, who has been playing like he’s 24, not 34 going on 35.

“Jeremy is a good guy to have in our middle third, he’s playing really aggressively and I think he and Beau Scott will have a say in how Trent Merrin plays and how much time he has to run the footy,” Hagan says.

Another man that will have a hand in that is Tariq Sims, who is itching to get out on the field after missing out on the first four weeks through suspension.

Hagan would also like to see the team minimise errors and penalties.

“The team’s had to make more tackles than any other team in the first four weeks, so holding onto the ball is really critical for managing our fatigue levels,” he says.

“The discipline has been talked about and even in the last game there were a couple of avoidable penalties.

“I know the coaching staff have been working extra hard on that and it just takes the pressure off your defence if you don’t give away penalties when a team’s coming out of trouble.

“The fact that we’re near the 50 per cent possession margin is okay, it’s when you shift to maybe 40 per cent that you’re really under pressure.”

It is set to be a special game with the teams playing for the inaugural Alex McKinnon Cup this Saturday at Hunter Stadium.

Where it will be won: In the halves

“The halves will be critical, Widdop and Marshall are quality players but Tyrone Roberts and Jarrod Mullen have been close to our best consistently in how they’ve managed our games,” Hagan says.

“If our kicking game is good – and it was good last week – then I think that will influence who comes out on top.”

Last Word:

“We have been doing a lot of work on defence and I think that’s what’s winning us the game,” Kade Snowden said at a press conference on Wednesday.


http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2015/04/02/nrl_preview_round_5.html




 
rhugh89 said:
Tyler Randell happy to hook in as needed

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2988239/versatile-tyler-happy-to-hook-in-as-needed/?cs=2503
Click to expand...
I was against the way Stone used Randell in reserve grade in a different position every week seemingly. I always thought the only way he'd ever make firstgrade was if he got to play 5/8 for long periods and be injury cover for Mullo, but it really is great how he is now able to slot in anywhere and do the job. He has already spent time in firstgrade at hooker, half, centre and second row, and hasn't let us down for a second. He even took on the goal kicking and slotted one from the sidelines (he was an excellent goal kicker in under 16s, but I don't think he's done much since).
 
“The halves will be critical, Widdop and Marshall are quality players but Tyrone Roberts and Jarrod Mullen have been close to our best consistently in how they’ve managed our games,” Hagan says.

Obviously there's a lot that goes on that we can't see from our television screens. I would have thought they were doing a particularly average job considering how unplanned and poor our fifth tackle options have been. But perhaps that's not their no1 priority as halves or organizers?

With the way we're playing atm, if Stoney can fix our attack to more closely resemble the 2010 and 2011 season there really isn't any reason why we can't win the comp
 
Kenny, fifth tackle kicking options seem to be changing. Last two weeks have seen players, us and others, opt to run at the line and end up with a handover 5 metres out. No doubt this is a better option than a grubber going dead or a bomb taken in goal with the seven tackle rule from the 20 metre line re-commencing play. From 5 metres takes, on average, 2 tackles to reach the twenty, a net gain of 3 tackles. I see the problem as our forwards going one out up until the fourth tackle and leaving our backs, the main strike weapons, insufficient tackles to set play up for the try.

Our centres and wingers are some of the best in the competition but get much too little ball.
 
member 2299 said:
Kenny, fifth tackle kicking options seem to be changing. Last two weeks have seen players, us and others, opt to run at the line and end up with a handover 5 metres out. No doubt this is a better option than a grubber going dead or a bomb taken in goal with the seven tackle rule from the 20 metre line re-commencing play. From 5 metres takes, on average, 2 tackles to reach the twenty, a net gain of 3 tackles. I see the problem as our forwards going one out up until the fourth tackle and leaving our backs, the main strike weapons, insufficient tackles to set play up for the try.

Our centres and wingers are some of the best in the competition but get much too little ball.
Click to expand...

We do seem to run the ball on the 5th, inside opposition 20, more than other teams but also more often of late. And I can see why Stone would opt for this kind of result as opposed to taking the gamble of risking less favourable results like the ones you mentioned... So that's all fine. It's not so much the choice but the execution of 5th tackle options that I'm concerned with. The reason we're struggling to score points is a direct result of our inability to execute plays imo. We can consider ourselves lucky that we can rely on our superstar strike weapons out wide every week to pull a couple tries out of nowhere. Because we longer seem to have the option of kicking to a flying Jmac or running a tight block play which makes for us room on the edge. Most of our tries seem to come on individual brilliance rather than a Storm or Rabbits style of 'planned try', if that makes sense.

But I'm pretty confident in Stone and our halves fixing whatever needs fixing. It's not as if they haven't done it before
 
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Worried about this game also as dragons are out bogey team.

Hope we can do a number on them and rack up a score.
 
Someone at HQ must have a crystal ball. Would rather have Saturday Night's six lotto numbers that Uate's 100th try lol!
 
Stockwell geared for Dragons match

Fri 3rd April, 06:29PM

Jack Stockwell is poised to take on his former club, the St George Illawarra Dragons in a blockbuster Easter Saturday night match at Hunter Stadium.

The Newcastle Knights’ new recruit joined the Club at the beginning of pre-season after starting his first grade career with the Dragons in 2012.

Excited to now be a part of the red and blue, the 23-year-old has a good bearing on what to expect from the opposition.

“The Saints is an unpredictable side and we’ve seen that in the first four rounds,” he said after the Knights final training run at Hunter Stadium on Good Friday.

“You don’t know what they are going to do or what they will throw at us…with Gareth (Widdop) and Benji (Marshall) they will have us on our toes."

Stockwell says the Dragons’ sizable forward pack is also something to be prepared for during the home match.

“They’ve got a good side and they showed that against the Manly pack,” he said.

“They have a few big fellas there and have been playing good footy, so we’ll be looking to get it over those blokes in the beginning of the game."

The Round 5 match will be the first time the young forward will come up against his former teammates.

“I have a few mates back there, so it will be good coming up against those blokes and putting it to them,” he said.

“I’ve got no bad blood with them.

“I’m at Newcastle now, so I’ll be going out there to play my style of footy and what I’ve been doing the first four weeks and that’s what I’m going to do.

“I’m just happy to be playing footy and to be in the side."

After four wins and returning to Hunter Stadium, Stockwell is confident the Knights will simulate their early success.

“We are coming off a couple of good wins and are just looking at staying consistent, that’s the biggest key for us,” he said.

“This week is a new challenge and we are just preparing the best way we can and play a hard style of footy.

“It’s a home game so we are looking forward to showing the fans what we’ve got.

“We’re looking at playing our style of footy and that’s hard footy.

“We’ve been doing well so far so (Rick) Stoney has named an unchanged team and I’m happy to be a part of it."

Stockwell says he’s adapted to his new club well and is proud of his work rate and the way he’s played for his teammates since taking the field for the Knights.

“That’s something the whole team is buying into and that’s coming off the back of our pre-season,” he said.

“We’ve been focusing on that and working for each other.

“The boys have been playing well and playing good footy.

“Kade (Snowden) has been leading from the front and Korbin (Sims) the first couple of weeks was up there as well.

“Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott and Tariq Sims in the back row is a good, hard pack and I love playing with them.

“It’s good getting Tariq back, he’s been ripping in pre-season. It’s been good watching him and it’ll be good playing alongside him.”


http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2015/04/03/stockwell_geared_for.html




 
McManus fit and eager for return

Fri 3rd April, 03:27PM

Veteran winger James McManus will return fit and ready to the Newcastle Knights line-up on Saturday to take on the St George Illawarra Dragons after missing last round.

A training mishap saw him sustain a gash over his eye that developed an infection at the back end of last week.

“I was pretty crook last week, the gash above my eye got pretty infected,” he said on Friday.

“I was rattled for a couple of days there but I’m feeling good now and am looking forward to tomorrow night’s clash.

“It’s not going to affect me at all.”

He said fact the Knights squad has plenty of depth is always a valuable asset.

“It’s great the boys got a good win and all worked hard for each other. It’s an exciting time here at the moment,’ he said.

“It’s good (Rick) Stoney has shown plenty of faith in me over the years.

“I have had a good start to the year, the last few games and it’s great that we have some depth and don’t lose too much if we lose something.

As the side aims for it’s fifth consecutive win, McManus says the team is prepared for the Dragons’ test and the added challenge of wet weather.

“We train for all sorts,” he said.

“The back three, we have some fair work ahead of us, particularly if the conditions are the way it looks like it’s going to be.

“Those tries off kicks are pretty crucial to stop when the conditions are like that.”


http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2015/04/03/mcmanus_fit_and_eage.html




 
Knights coach Rick Stone says his ladder leading team has not achieved ‘a whole lot’ in the opening rounds of the season


  • BARRY TOOHEY
  • THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
  • APRIL 03, 2015 9:30PM

RICK Stone is not quite sure what all the fuss is about.

His team sits unexpectedly on top of the heap after the opening four rounds of the premiership but ask him to define his side’s unbeaten start and the affable Newcastle Knights coach offers the word “nice”.

Yep, plain old nice.“A nice way to start,” he says matter-of-factly.

But then comes some meat on the bone to back his modest assessment.

“Realistically, what have we done?” he asks before answering his own question.

“Not a whole lot if we are really honest.“We’ve beaten the Cowboys up there which, okay, is generally a tough gig.

“We’ve snuck home against the Titans and won a couple of home games. That’s it.

“You want to go anywhere in this competition, you are going to have to win a fair few home games.

“It’s a nice start but that’s all it is.”

There you have it — Rick Stone doing his best under-the-radar impersonation of Des Hasler.

So, why the fuss then?Well, for one thing, no one expected it.

Who out there tipped the Knights would be unbeaten and leading the competition on their own after four rounds?

Not Wayne Bennett.

The former Knights coach left Newcastle for Brisbane at the end of last season without endorsing Stone as his successor and with this parting prediction:

“No one is talking about a quick fix with the Knights. It’s going to take four or five years to get the club up to speed.”

To be fair, Stone is not talking quick fixes either despite early results going his side’s way.

The reincarnated coach maintains his side is evolving, a work in progress.

A bit like the club itself, he says.Stone is big on the club and the town.

He is all about the big picture, of winning back a Hunter community left feeling disenfranchised by the privatisation era.

Of taking the club back to the fans and his players back to its blue collar roots.

“It’s why winning our first game was important,” Stone says.

“We needed to make an early statement at home to our fans.

“Set some standards for ourselves and get our fans engaged again.

“The big thing is the whole club is on board and we want the town to be in it together with us.

“Now we just want to keep it going.”

In typical fashion, Stone deflects much of the praise for his side’s encouraging start on to his players and his support staff headed by coaching assistants Craig Sandercock and Danny Buderus.

The players, though, will openly point to his relaxed coaching demeanour as a factor in why they are enjoying their footy so much.

But Stone is hardly the soft touch he can sometimes come across as, evidenced by the strips he tore off his players at half-time in the Cowboys game in round two.

“He’s a great bloke Stoney but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t demand high standards and have plenty to say if he doesn’t get them,” skipper Kurt Gidley says.

As if to illustrate the point, Stone admits there is plenty of scope for improvement in his unbeaten squad.

“Look, we haven’t played great in any of our games,” he says.

“We’ve scratched out four wins, largely on the back of will rather than skill.

“We haven’t had any more than 47 per cent of possession in any game and a by-product of that is we’ve had to make more tackles than any other team in the competition.

“It saps your energy and you don’t keep winning with those sorts of stats.

“It’s why we are ranked near the bottom in both offloads conceded and missed tackles because we have players under fatigue.”

But therein lies the key to why the potential of this Knights side can’t be underestimated.

There have been glimpses of the attacking threat posed by players such as Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Akuila Uate and young gun Sione Mata’utia out wide, but the side’s offence is yet to really click.

And defensively, despite all the missed tackles and conceded offloads, they are letting in fewer tries than any other team in the competition on the back of sheer will and desire.

“We are making it hard for ourselves but we’ve got some defensive resolve — there is no doubt about that,” Stone says.

“Blokes are working hard for each other, not wanting to let each other down which is important and Wayne (Bennett) deserves plenty of credit because he is really big on that sort of thing and that’s something he drummed into the place while he was here.

“We are scrambling well, our on-line defence has been good.

“We are just playing tough and competing hard.

“Having that sort of attitude and will and desire has probably been the most pleasing part of the past month for us.”

Two of the game’s most feared competitors, Beau Scott and Jeremy Smith, are driving that defensive resolve.

If anything, the two renowned hit-men have taken their toughness to another level this season under Stone and it’s rubbing off on young forwards Korbin Sims and Jack Stockwell.

“The same goes with Kade (Snowden) when he is carrying the football. He’s had a lot of tough carries,” Stone says.

“As I said, there has been a lot to like about aspects of the way we are playing but we can get better.

“You’d like to think we can take another step forward in that regard against the Dragons at home on Saturday night.”


http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ds-of-the-season/story-fni3gf5j-1227290681292
 
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