Newcastle Knights' Draw in 2018. Harsh?

[Still Nutty]

Competitive in all 4 games, no blow outs would be a pass. A win will be great, two wins will be grand, 3 will be excellent and 4 would be a dream.

Again, I've said it all preseason and will preach it all season long, a loss isn't going to hurt us and losses should be expected. Our expectations should be low despite the hype and excitement (well deserved but still). The next 4 weeks are tough but they'll be an indicator of more where this team is at in terms of developing, not where this team is going to be for the next 3-5 years. They're great tests and I get that losing is tough to cop especially after the last 3 years and it's even easier to fall back into that feeling of doom and gloom, of hopelessness, but I feel the draw works best for us because it's going to keep us grounded. I'd rather have this draw now rather than at the back end of the season where we're way in over our heads about our prospects.

Easier said then done but just temper excitement each week. Don't be disappointed because already this side has shown a touch of class and immense potential. At some point - I hope and pray at some point this season - this side is going to click and will blow some teams right off the park.

I agree with all this Swarzey...

I want to see how we respond after we lose our first game...that will tell me more about where this team is at and how much my expectations need to be managed this season.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Considering we have both the Roosters and Storm over the next month of football I wonder if we'll employ a similar tactic to the Tigers who really troubled both of those sides with their ball movement and especially their offloads. The Roosters and Storm both looked pretty clunky in attack which could have been a result of fatigue because they were making so many repeat tackle efforts with all the offloads the Tigers were throwing.

We've played pretty safe football so far this season, only really spreading the ball when we're close to our opponent's goal line and keeping offloads to a minimum, while I understand that we're still a relatively young team and it's wise to keep it simple I hope we can evolve into a more dynamic team as the season progresses. There will be some games where we need to be a bit more adventurous with the ball to break other teams down and I hope we develop that throughout the season.

Whether we see this happen in the next few games I'm not sure but I'm hoping we'll see it.

 

[Swarzey]

I don't think we can replicate what the Tigers did against Storm and Chooks. Their performance stemmed from a whole preseason of developing that strong, defensive attitude, not simply a game plan they threw together during a week.

 

[Mr Angry]

Does this not mean you get more games at home at the end of the season, would prefer that myself.

 

[Noname36]

I don't think we can replicate what the Tigers did against Storm and Chooks. Their performance stemmed from a whole preseason of developing that strong, defensive attitude, not simply a game plan they threw together during a week.

Yeah, although we’re tough and always try really hard we just don’t have that gritty solid defence that they do.

 

[Frederick]

Does this not mean you get more games at home at the end of the season, would prefer that myself.

Nope, we get about 6 in a row in the middle of the year, then end the season with more away than home.

 

[Pedge1971]

Next 4 games.

Roosters
Dragons
Broncos
Storm

What do we consider a pass mark?

1 more win. Massive paas.

 

[Pedge1971]

Competitive in all 4 games, no blow outs would be a pass. A win will be great, two wins will be grand, 3 will be excellent and 4 would be a dream.

Again, I've said it all preseason and will preach it all season long, a loss isn't going to hurt us and losses should be expected. Our expectations should be low despite the hype and excitement (well deserved but still). The next 4 weeks are tough but they'll be an indicator of more where this team is at in terms of developing, not where this team is going to be for the next 3-5 years. They're great tests and I get that losing is tough to cop especially after the last 3 years and it's even easier to fall back into that feeling of doom and gloom, of hopelessness, but I feel the draw works best for us because it's going to keep us grounded. I'd rather have this draw now rather than at the back end of the season where we're way in over our heads about our prospects.

Easier said then done but just temper excitement each week. Don't be disappointed because already this side has shown a touch of class and immense potential. At some point - I hope and pray at some point this season - this side is going to click and will blow some teams right off the park.

Great post mate. This is 88 or 89 again. The potential is massive esp with the lower grade and junior scores I see.

Wests will secure that legacy so I see us as a buyer of marquee players to complement our nursery of champions going fwd...

 

[Pedge1971]

Absolutely agree with you. We need to be patient with them. If we are 2 from 6 the sky isn’t falling...

Dude I was thinking easily 0 from 6. We are 2 points both games from that scenario as Browny pointed out.

 

[Pedge1971]

Yeah, although we’re tough and always try really hard we just don’t have that gritty solid defence that they do.

Our strength is a rocksolid fwd pack that holds the middle, tires their big boys out then out little guys come on and run them ragged.

That seems to be the plan....