2nd half - great effort..6-6

[Missa]

i thought we played well in the 2nd half...although it was too late we didnt give up..we had opportunities.....some vid ref decisons went against us which could have turned the table..but the roosters were too good in the 1st half....we will seek revenge in 2004

 

[Leasha]

i thought we played well in the 2nd half...although it was too late we didnt give up..we had opportunities.....some vid ref decisons went against us which could have turned the table..but the roosters were too good in the 1st half....we will seek revenge in 2004

I think the second half by the Knights was great - it really showed up the talent they have obtained since Joey has been out of the side. I just can't wait for next season, to see how different the game plan is, because if we have a team that plays as well as they did in the second 40 mins tonight, as well as the best player in the world, I think we'll be unbeatable!!!

 

[Matt23]

We will be back bigger and better next season.

 

[Anonymous]

Take a leaf out of BKs book, matty johns asked if bk was proud of the second half, he said no, we were blown away in the first and the roosters just shut up in the 2nd half.

Its a tough game to follow, support them all year, then they get knocked out, the feeling is so hollow, definately the worst time of the year for me.

 

[astrogirl]

Its a tough game to follow, support them all year, then they get knocked out, the feeling is so hollow, definately the worst time of the year for me.

Me too, I'm sad about the fact that the season is over for the Knights. Spring is always difficult, due to footy withdrawal. This year's even worse cos I'll be missing the snow as well - this is where I need an emoticon with tears, but I can't find one

I need to find a fantastic spring/summer hobby to take my mind off the Knights and skiing...

 

[Terminator]

They did close it down in the second half, I had heckling Gooster fans all around me saying stuff like 60 to nil.

 

[Doctor]

Need I say it was disappointing to watch. Like some who attended the Hunter Harvest, I taped the game and watched it at about 11pm - someone told me we lost though.

But I'm disappointed more in the fact the Roosters just overpowered us early and we never recovered. The first 20 minutes, the Knights just weren't on their game. Our forwards got hammered, our backs just couldn't find any space to move, we were forever coming out of our own territory, and our kick-chase was at lowly level.

Kurt Gidley, sorry to say, had an ordinary game and must have felt highly disappointed in his performance. After some very good performances from him in previous weeks, his kicking game let him down and the Knights just couldn't get the field position in order for them to rely on him to create something to score. Not finding touch on a penalty, and sending it straight to the fullback on many kicks must be disappointing for Kurt - he is a quality player who just couldn't manage to put together the right performance on the night.

Our forwards, with the exception of Buderus and Kennedy, were far too quiet. They were outmuscled early, and never recovered. Mistakes on our part, some strong runs from the Roosters, and a few penalties rubbed into the wounds just exacerbated the situation - we lost because we were outplayed.

You look for Perry, Parsons, Simpson, Kennedy etc to all make metres - they all showed glimpses of a good performance, but many of our forwards just couldn't manage to make the metres and get themselves in position to tackle effectively.

I tipped the Knights to prove a few people wrong last night - unfortunately I was wrong, and I'm the first to admit it. But, if anything, it goes to show how well the Roosters played - they outgunned and out-flanked us in all areas, and though the Knights were keen and fired up, they had all the wind knocked out of their sails by a menacing first 20 minutes that saw 22 points scored against us compared to just two on our scoresheet.

Our kicking and fifth-tackle options weren't their best last night, but even Johns couldn't have won us the game - full credit to the Roosters.

 

[Terminator]

Totally agree.

 

[antonius]

Posted this in another thread but might have been more appropriate in this one.

I've Got to say I was dissapointed by the effort. Daniel Abraham IMO was outstanding, and Bedsey tried his heart out in an otherwise very ordinary display. The calls went against us in the first half sure, and I thought Kidley should have been awarded a penalty try, if that wasn't one then none are. All that aside we were well beaten by the better team, I've said all year the Goosters are the team to beat, and IMO they still are. I'm not having a go at you here BIHK, but Kidley's game apart from that effort to get over, was poor, his kicking game just didn't exist, BK made a couple of good runs but it was obvious he played injured, last night indicated to me that Robbie is a spent force at fullback, he just doesn't make the metres back with the ball anymore, he is happy to submit to the tackle and once again our defence was found wanting in the first half. It became very clear that we have a lot of re-building to do next season, I don't think Johns even would have got us over the line last night.

 

[Doctor]

I can't agree with you about Robbie O'Davis though Antonius.

Yes he is ageing, and yes he isn't as dynamic as he used to be, but the stats from the last few weeks have indicated he is gaining some valuable kick-return metres. I don't know whether that is because of other factors, but O'Davis seemed to be doing a decent job.

Perhaps in this game he didn't make metres and did in fact submit to the tackles, but then again so did the big boys and it's there job to be tough.

O'Davis is reaching veteren status, but some of the stats I've read indicate he is doing a decent job.

 

[antonius]

I can't agree with you about Robbie O'Davis though Antonius.

Yes he is ageing, and yes he isn't as dynamic as he used to be, but the stats from the last few weeks have indicated he is gaining some valuable kick-return metres. I don't know whether that is because of other factors, but O'Davis seemed to be doing a decent job.

Perhaps in this game he didn't make metres and did in fact submit to the tackles, but then again so did the big boys and it's there job to be tough.

O'Davis is reaching veteren status, but some of the stats I've read indicate he is doing a decent job.

Your right Chook he is doing a decent job. But in Saturdays game he was just there, Look at the other Finals fullbacks, Lockyer, Paton,Webb,Wesser, they all were evasive enough to beat tacklers and make the metres, the metres gained by Robbie are from just running the ball back to the first tackler and then going down, that still registers in the stats as metres gained, but they are easy metres, he very rarely breaks the line these days that is what I'm saying. He's reasonably safe, and he runs the ball back to the first line of defence and that's fine, but the spark in attack is rarely seen these days. I really think Young should be given a chance next year. Saturdays game highlighted some worrying signs for us I thought.

 

[Doctor]

he very rarely breaks the line these days that is what I'm saying. He's reasonably safe, and he runs the ball back to the first line of defence and that's fine, but the spark in attack is rarely seen these days. I really think Young should be given a chance next year. Saturdays game highlighted some worrying signs for us I thought

I agree - his line-breaks are becoming rare, but safety under the high ball and his involvement near the tryline have generally always been quite valuable.

But you're right - the time is right for a Young or a Kidley to take over fullback duties. I think Kidley will be ready to handle regular 5/8th duties next year, and with Young bulking up a bit more during the off-season and continuing to improve on his game, he'll play first grade sometime next season I hope.

O'Davis will no doubt be injured sometime next season, and I think Young will be ready to have a few runs by then - by all means get him in there and have a taste of the top grade even if it is only a couple of games. Guys like Timana Tahu and Josh Perry were given breif stints in 1st Grade, before returning to First Division to improve their games - now look at them.

I trust Hagan's judgement though - he will be well aware of younger players and the need to give them some chances in the top grade. We've got a decent fullback in Premier League and an ageing but safe fullback in the top grade - hopefully a smoothish transition there somewhere.

 

[antonius]

Exactly the way I'm thinking. I think next season will see a bit of a transition in a few areas of the team, some of our backline stars of the past are aging a bit and it's time to blood a few I think, I'd like to see Ennis given a run next season also.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

O'Davis looked very old the other night, didn't he? His fitness might have been down and opposition sparkling, but he had nothing.

I don't think Young is the answer. He isn't a spark of an attacker. He stands on the wing most of the time waiting for the play to come his way instead of injecting himself into the action. Wasn't his try total for the year 4? That's not exactly what the first grade squad is after, especially since his one on one defence is questionable. I'd say the Glenn Frendo look-alike needs at least another year to show his worth to the team.

As for the second half, I have to say we weren't that great. We only matched it with the Roosters because they took their foot off the peddle. While we stopped making mistakes and giving away penalties (try 2 and 3 were from pathetic penalties), the Roosters really didn't look all that "on" in the second half. They just did enough to keep us at bay.