philstorm said:
In other news, when will Knights fans stop crying about the matter?
They won't and this certainly won't help the cause either :lol:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22069305-5001023,00.html
How Storm saved Clint Newton
DISCARDED Knight Clint Newton has broken his silence on this weekend's reunion with nemesis Brian Smith, declaring his decision to quit Newcastle for Melbourne has "remade me as a person".
In his only interview ahead of Monday night's clash, Newton said he was determined not to put pressure on himself or his team by treating the occasion as a personal battle against his former coach.The Olympic Park blockbuster will mark the first time the pair have locked horns since an ugly stand-off six weeks ago resulted in Newton leaving Newcastle just hours after notching 100 NRL appearances for his junior club. And despite the fact his famous father and passionate Knights supporter Jack has flown to Melbourne for the game, Newton is trying to keep his feet grounded.
"A lot of people are talking it up like I've got a point to prove, but I'm not someone to put a ridiculous amount of pressure on myself and my team," the 26-year-old said. Some people might think I'm talking s . . . but I've not really thought about it too much."I've still got a lot of respect for people at Newcastle, and really just want to do my best to help Melbourne win."
Newton has not bantered with any ex-Knights teammates this week and maintained he is not aiming to send a statement Smith's way come Monday night. "I don't have any messages to send Brian Smith . . . I don't have any worries any more about how he sees me," the Country Origin second-rower said."At the moment I'm only trying to impress one coach and that's (Storm coach) Craig Bellamy.
"I'm treating this as just another game but, yes, it is exciting to come up against my best mates."I would not expect any bad sledging - it's definitely not going to come from me. There might be a few funny remarks, but unless it comes from the other side I'm not going to say anything."Father Jack, however, admitted the prospect of watching his son tackle Newcastle was "weird".
An icon of the coalfields, the golfing great has vowed to barrack against his beloved Knights for the first time ever."Blood is thicker, you've got to go with your blood, so I'll be supporting my son," Jack said."His mum (Jackie) and I probably would have went anyway, but we did want to be there for him for this game."
Having only moved to the NRL outpost six weeks ago, Newton is already relishing life outside the Hunter Valley fishbowl. "I love it down here. It's been a breath of fresh air being out of the spotlight. Living in Melbourne, I wouldn't really know what is going on in rugby league compared to when I was hearing about it all the time in Newcastle."That's the good thing about being down here - we don't really talk about everyone else and that's probably helped me for this game."
Having entertained thoughts about quitting altogether as his relationship with Smith soured to the point of no return, Newton credited the Storm for resurrecting his career.
"It's remade me as a person and my attitude, compared to what it was six weeks ago, is totally different."I've sort of found myself and realised why I'm playing this game.
"I don't want to dramatise things and say I was going to walk away, but I did wonder a couple of times whether it worth the stress and hassle. Melbourne has changed my feelings towards rugby league.
"I've now got a smile on my face every time I go training. That's something that wasn't happening six weeks ago."Interestingly, although Newton has been named on a six-man bench there are no guarantees he will take the field."I suppose (Bellamy) will decide on Monday what to do," he said. "If I play I will certainly be ripping and tearing."
