Smith: We must kick on

Pumba

Pumba

John Morris
Smith: We must kick on
Adam Lucius

Newcastle coach Brian Smith has played down the growing expectations surrounding his team after the Knights grabbed hold of eighth spot following their 32-12 win over a disappointing Parramatta in Monday night football.

The pragmatic Smith, who chalked up career game No.500 against his former club, declared the victory would mean little if Newcastle didn't kick on and reach the finals for the first time in the post-Andrew Johns era.

"I was going to say I wish someone would ring the bell and say we're across the line but I actually don't because I'm really enjoying the ride at the moment and the challenge," he said.

"But there is absolutely no prize whatsoever for being in the eight after 21 rounds."

"We may or may not be good enough to make it - we've got to prove that over the next (five) weeks."

"If we're good enough we will, if we don't we'll be glum."

On the efficient six tries to two disposal of Parramatta before 16,435 fans at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Smith said: "It's a results-orientated business and we got what we were after tonight."

"I thought we lost our way in the game a few times but we did enough to win."

"We've just got to try and keep winning."

Parramatta coach Michael Hagan was remarkably calm following a performance that bordered on dreadful at times.

He even talked up the Eels' chances of figuring in the play offs despite languishing in 13th spot.

"I thought they had a number of things go their way. You've got to give them some credit the way they played," Hagan said of Newcastle.

"We knew that the team that lost - it would make it harder for them (to make the finals) - but it's doesn’t make it insurmountable for our team."

"But there are some areas we need to sort out as far as our team is concerned. Clearly there is not an easy fix."

Captain Nathan Cayless added: "We're going to have to play a lot better if we want to keep our season alive."

"It's getting pretty desperate."

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Looking at the road ahead.

Titans (Away) - They get Mark Minichello back this week however I think we can win it.
Raiders (Away) - Playing them on home soil is going to be hard but if we turn up to play we can win it.
Cowboys (Home) - They may have Thurston back by then but can win it.
Storm (Home) - It will be a massive event, Bedsys farewell. If we stick to our guns and defend our arses off its do able. Lets hope Bellyache "rests" some players.
Broncos (Away) - Final Round of the regular season up at Suncorp. Broncos will want to get a good run going into the finals. again its do able.

If we really stick to our guns and play top shelf footy we CAN win the remaining 5 games.

Thats me being HIGHLY optimistic though.
 
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Titans, are good enough to beat them
Raiders, should win
Cowboys, danger games as the Knights may relax, but should win it
Storm, could go either way
Broncos, nope cant see us winning here, but nice if we did.
28 pts
 
Titans and Cowboys will be a walk in the park. Raiders are a whole different team at home and with Campese's form it will be fkn tough. Unless storm rest Smith, Inglis, Slater and Folau then we just need to try and not get flogged. Broncos away will be tough as well and I'm not confident.

So hard to tell really and with us being so inconsistent who the **** knows.
 
Hopefully we can win the next three on the trot, that way it shouldn't matter if we lose to either Melbourne or Brisbane or both, it shouldn't matter too much.
 
Zephr said:
Titans, are good enough to beat them
Raiders, should win
Cowboys, danger games as the Knights may relax, but should win it
Storm, could go either way
Broncos, nope cant see us winning here, but nice if we did.
28 pts
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interesting outlook. melbourne or brisbane may "relax" against us, but you're right, canberra is the dark horse & will be a handful. but i'm confident against every other team you mentioned, we may not flog or get flogged but it will be close on most games.
 
I'm most worried about the Canberra game we'll beat the Titans and the Cowboys and I really think we can upset Melbourne in Bedsey's last home game Brisbane will be tough but haven't been playing brilliant but Canberra are in great form and tough to beat at home
 
mozza said:
I'm most worried about the Canberra game we'll beat the Titans and the Cowboys and I really think we can upset Melbourne in Bedsey's last home game Brisbane will be tough but haven't been playing brilliant but Canberra are in great form and tough to beat at home
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Brisbane did give the raiders a towel up last weekend though, I think they ar starting to find their form.

Pretty much every game we have is going to be tuff,
 
Maddog78 said:
Brisbane did give the raiders a towel up last weekend though, I think they ar starting to find their form.

Pretty much every game we have is going to be tuff,
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The scoreline was flattering for the Broncos though the Raiders were in the game up until the last 10 minutes
It's gonna be hard but we can do it I reckon we'll overtake the Dragons and the Panthers and finish 6th
 
Here's how I see it:

Titans (Away) - I have us winning this one. Titans have some key injuries and like everyone else, I think they know they're on the decline and they'll struggle to make the 8 now. Besides that, I think we'll be too good for them anyways.

Raiders (Away) - This will be a tough one IMO. I have us coming away with the W, though I think it may come down to the wire. Should be a good match.

Cowboys (Home) - Should come away with the 2 points here. Cowboys are last on the ladder and we're playing for a top 8 spot. It would be handy to win in a blow out, though I'm not counting on it. Never the less, this one should be in the bag.

Storm (Home) - Last home game of the season, so hopefully we can knock off the top dogs, though unless Bellamy rests some players , I just don't see us coming away on top. On our day, we can beat them, though we're just too inconsistent compared to Melborne who seem like they're always on their game. I think it'll be fairly close though. If they win, it won't be in a blow out IMO, which would obviously help us in the for and against department which it may possibly come down to.

Broncos (Away) - Once again, I'm skeptical, and I honestly don't think we'll win this one. On their day, especially at home, Brisbane are virtually unstoppable. This will be a tough one, though if we need the 2 points to get into the top 8, I can see us pulling out all the stops and putting in a great performance. My prediction is we'll lose in another close one (like the Melbourne game), though you just never know.

So I have us winning 3 out of our last 5 games, which would then put us on 28 points. Our for and against should be up around at least +30 you'd think, which would hopefully get us into the 8.
 
Yep, I reckon our next three are must-wins. The Canberra one will be the toughest, the other two should be almost certainties.

If we can win the next three, that will have us winning five on the trot, so could give us enough confidence to win either of the last two. I think if we win the next three we'll be close to sixth spot, as well (Dragons and Panthers have some tough matches coming up), so winning one of the final two could potentially see us getting two shots in the finals.

But the eight would be fine!!!
 
Greek Knight said:
interesting outlook. melbourne or brisbane may "relax" against us, but you're right, canberra is the dark horse & will be a handful. but i'm confident against every other team you mentioned, we may not flog or get flogged but it will be close on most games.
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Im starting to lean towards the Raiders as the toughest test.
 
Cannt agree more with Brian. I think the boys have much more potential in them. They did enough to win against the eels. Just that they just have to keep going. Keep it like this and we'll make the finals for sure.
 
Sammyyy said:
Cannt agree more with Brian. I think the boys have much more potential in them. They did enough to win against the eels. Just that they just have to keep going. Keep it like this and we'll make the finals for sure.
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Brians right I think, the defence was great, and except for a couple of blunders by Uate, which was more due to him and Sau not working well together that night, we would have kept them scoreless.
But our attack was a bit aimless, except when we were in the eels 20, then we just used sheer leg power and strength to charge over.
We can play alot better than that, it just didnt come together properly on the night.
 
Zephr said:
Definitely, and if Simpson keeps going the way he went last night, we will get there, not many guys can KO foey.
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Pffft Fui is overrated, probably the worst NZ prop.

He even got smashed by an 18 year old kid.

[youtube]VFV6G0QKF3E[/youtube]
 
To be hinest I think brian Smith s kinda good for the knights!

I didnt liek him at first but the knights are goong well at the moment


i congratulate him - never thought Id ever say that
 
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