- Messages
- 27,563
LINKKnights fans' anger at Brian Smith
Article from:
By Josh Massoud
August 23, 2007 12:00am
THIS is the street poll the Newcastle Knights - and the NRL - should fear.
In a damning appraisal of the Kirk Reynoldson controversy, Novocastrians yesterday turned on their beloved Knights in an almost unequivocal vote of no-confidence to coach Brian Smith's player clean-out.
The deteriorating relationship between a host of departing local juniors and club hierarchy was reflected on Hunter Street.
A Daily Telegraph poll in Hunter Street mall found the Reynoldson drama has deeply disaffected this blue collar community.
Angry that a fellow worker's rights appear to have been unfairly dealt with, Novacastrians are highlighting the issue as the single biggest reason why rusted-on supporters are now realising there is a sporting world outside the Knights.
"The Jets are taking over," said 33-year-old George Saforis in reference to the rise of the town's A-League franchise.
Frighteningly for Newcastle - and the NRL - the figures support Mr Saforis's rhetoric.
In their final five games of last season the Jets averaged 18,754 fans at Energy Australia Stadium. In their past five outings at the same venue, the Knights have averaged 13,952.
Buoyed, Jets co-owner Con Constantine boldly predicted soccer would eventually usurp league as Newcastle's No. 1 sport at this week's A-League launch.
Laughable just 12 months ago, that scenario gained credence with every interview The Daily Telegraph conducted yesterday.
Typical was Kim Malcomson, 17, who said: "No one seems to like the Knights in Newcastle any more. It used to be a religion."
It's a far cry from the league-mad town Reynoldson was embraced by when he switched from the Storm in 2004.
His non-selection saga is now a chilling touchstone of discontent within a city that has placed rugby league and oxygen on a similar par for almost a century.
"The whole attitude has changed," 17-year-old Monique Stace said.
"The team is not doing it for the town anymore."
Ashleigh Edwards, 16, agreed, saying: "The coach is making it like a Sydney team ... I don't want to see that happen."
Moira Kirby said the anger within the community had reached a flashpoint: "I've heard people talking about burning their jerseys."
Jeremy Fox, 23, was aghast at how the club had treated Reynoldson.
"I thought Newcastle people always look after Newcastle people," he said.
What a f**king joke :lol:
Hunter St mall? Do people still go there? Isn't that place just a haven for homeless people and drunk little kiddies?
Not meaning to sound racist, but if they ask someone with a surname like Saforis whether they prefer soccer of rugby league, it's probably a fair bet they're going to say soccer.
No sh*t. The Jets were winning games, and had a very real chance of taking out the competition. The Knights, on the other hand, are losing games because the players all seem disinterested in playing and can't wait for the off-season. Why should people turn up to see players who aren't even gonna have a dig?
blah
blah
f**king blah. I told ya - hunter st mall is full of drunk little kiddies who know jack sh*t about nothing.
Yes but, Reynoldson isn't a Novocastrian. If you want to use this argument, use it for someone like Josh Perry or Adam Woolnough, players who've been here all their lives. Not for this journeyman hack who started off in QLD, went to Parra, then back to Brisbane, then down to Melbourne, before finally arriving here to rob us of 200grand a year.
