http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/seu-seu-shines-in-the-dark/2007/03/04/1172943276890.html
IT WASN'T just the quality of lighting at Cessnock Sports Ground that made this a relatively dark night for Newcastle. Andrew Johns's late withdrawal - putting him in doubt for round one - and a lackadaisical display for 75 of the 80 minutes made sure Knights coach Brian Smith was using words like "disappointed" and "embarrassing" post-match rather than confident and uplifting. But there was one portion of the Knights' 12-10 win over Cronulla on Saturday night which gave him renewed hope for the season.
Hooker Terence Seu Seu shone far brighter than the humble floodlights at the ground and, according to Smith, may well have played himself into the Knights' squad for round one. "He's a player, that boy," Smith said.
And coincidentally, he almost is still a boy.
Seu Seu, who says former Kiwi prop Jerry Seu Seu is "apparently" his grandfather's nephew (although he hasn't met him), is still 19, and played in the Knights' Jersey Flegg grand final side last season.
But he's about to grow up quick. With Danny Buderus suspended until round four, and regular back-up Luke Quigley picking up an ankle injury, Seu Seu may start against the Bulldogs on March 18.
Asked about Smith's compliment, Seu Seu even managed to turn his star turn into a scene from Jerry Maguire: "That's good news, I have been waiting for him to sign me during the week, too … I come off contract this year and hope to sign up for another couple of years.
"Danny is the number one, he is the one I look up to and watch videos on him … anytime you get to work with the best you can't give up that opportunity. I want to learn from the best and get some more experience. Anything he says goes for me."
It took two Adam Woolnough tries in the final five minutes to give the Knights victory, the prop saying a "tiny little rev-up" at half-time by Smith was the catalyst for his heroics.
Still, Smith admits he has some "sorting out to do" before round one, although he was heartened by the performances of Woolnough, Clint Newton, and his two wingers, James McManus and Akuila Uate.
"At one stage I thought we were going to have to pay the electricity bill before we scored a try," Smith said.
But the win at least counted for something: "There's a truckload of improvement in us, [but] they could have easily parked the bus - at one stage, I was about to park it for them. But they kept fighting."
This was one of those trial situations - not uncommon - when the losing coach is happy and the winning coach is not. Certainly, in the first half, the Sharks were far superior, with Brett Kimmorley pulling the strings with aplomb to give his side a 10-0 buffer.
Sharks coach Ricky Stuart rested his star player for the second half - and by the final quarter most of the players you'd expect to play in round one against Penrith were sitting next to him on the sidelines.
Both sides struggled with ball control, although to be fair the conditions were slippery and night-vision goggles weren't included in the kit bags.
"I spoke to Noddy [Kimmorley] before the game, and said I wanted to get to half-time and be happy with the first 40 minutes, and then I wanted to rest some individuals, and we did that," Stuart said. "We used up 30 players - we used a number of players who were in our Premier League game. It's good for them to get a bit of first-grade experience, because you never know when you're going to need to call upon them. There's improvement there, but we're going forward."
Kimmorley said: "In the first half we played really well. I think we bombed about five or six tries. Even though we haven't scored many points, from what we have shown, we can improve on it."
Both sides emerged relatively unscathed, with Phil Leuluai (ankle) and Craig Stapleton (concussion) Stuart's only concerns. However, he is in the enviable position of still having Paul Gallen, Adam Dykes, David Simmons and Lance Thompson to return.
Smith is similarly blessed, with Buderus and a certain halfback still to play their first matches of 2007. "Whatever it is we start with, it ain't going to be the same within two or three weeks, you can bet your life," Smith said. They may not have night vision, but at least someone's got Knight vision.
IT WASN'T just the quality of lighting at Cessnock Sports Ground that made this a relatively dark night for Newcastle. Andrew Johns's late withdrawal - putting him in doubt for round one - and a lackadaisical display for 75 of the 80 minutes made sure Knights coach Brian Smith was using words like "disappointed" and "embarrassing" post-match rather than confident and uplifting. But there was one portion of the Knights' 12-10 win over Cronulla on Saturday night which gave him renewed hope for the season.
Hooker Terence Seu Seu shone far brighter than the humble floodlights at the ground and, according to Smith, may well have played himself into the Knights' squad for round one. "He's a player, that boy," Smith said.
And coincidentally, he almost is still a boy.
Seu Seu, who says former Kiwi prop Jerry Seu Seu is "apparently" his grandfather's nephew (although he hasn't met him), is still 19, and played in the Knights' Jersey Flegg grand final side last season.
But he's about to grow up quick. With Danny Buderus suspended until round four, and regular back-up Luke Quigley picking up an ankle injury, Seu Seu may start against the Bulldogs on March 18.
Asked about Smith's compliment, Seu Seu even managed to turn his star turn into a scene from Jerry Maguire: "That's good news, I have been waiting for him to sign me during the week, too … I come off contract this year and hope to sign up for another couple of years.
"Danny is the number one, he is the one I look up to and watch videos on him … anytime you get to work with the best you can't give up that opportunity. I want to learn from the best and get some more experience. Anything he says goes for me."
It took two Adam Woolnough tries in the final five minutes to give the Knights victory, the prop saying a "tiny little rev-up" at half-time by Smith was the catalyst for his heroics.
Still, Smith admits he has some "sorting out to do" before round one, although he was heartened by the performances of Woolnough, Clint Newton, and his two wingers, James McManus and Akuila Uate.
"At one stage I thought we were going to have to pay the electricity bill before we scored a try," Smith said.
But the win at least counted for something: "There's a truckload of improvement in us, [but] they could have easily parked the bus - at one stage, I was about to park it for them. But they kept fighting."
This was one of those trial situations - not uncommon - when the losing coach is happy and the winning coach is not. Certainly, in the first half, the Sharks were far superior, with Brett Kimmorley pulling the strings with aplomb to give his side a 10-0 buffer.
Sharks coach Ricky Stuart rested his star player for the second half - and by the final quarter most of the players you'd expect to play in round one against Penrith were sitting next to him on the sidelines.
Both sides struggled with ball control, although to be fair the conditions were slippery and night-vision goggles weren't included in the kit bags.
"I spoke to Noddy [Kimmorley] before the game, and said I wanted to get to half-time and be happy with the first 40 minutes, and then I wanted to rest some individuals, and we did that," Stuart said. "We used up 30 players - we used a number of players who were in our Premier League game. It's good for them to get a bit of first-grade experience, because you never know when you're going to need to call upon them. There's improvement there, but we're going forward."
Kimmorley said: "In the first half we played really well. I think we bombed about five or six tries. Even though we haven't scored many points, from what we have shown, we can improve on it."
Both sides emerged relatively unscathed, with Phil Leuluai (ankle) and Craig Stapleton (concussion) Stuart's only concerns. However, he is in the enviable position of still having Paul Gallen, Adam Dykes, David Simmons and Lance Thompson to return.
Smith is similarly blessed, with Buderus and a certain halfback still to play their first matches of 2007. "Whatever it is we start with, it ain't going to be the same within two or three weeks, you can bet your life," Smith said. They may not have night vision, but at least someone's got Knight vision.
IT WASN'T just the quality of lighting at Cessnock Sports Ground that made this a relatively dark night for Newcastle. Andrew Johns's late withdrawal - putting him in doubt for round one - and a lackadaisical display for 75 of the 80 minutes made sure Knights coach Brian Smith was using words like "disappointed" and "embarrassing" post-match rather than confident and uplifting. But there was one portion of the Knights' 12-10 win over Cronulla on Saturday night which gave him renewed hope for the season.
Hooker Terence Seu Seu shone far brighter than the humble floodlights at the ground and, according to Smith, may well have played himself into the Knights' squad for round one. "He's a player, that boy," Smith said.
And coincidentally, he almost is still a boy.
Seu Seu, who says former Kiwi prop Jerry Seu Seu is "apparently" his grandfather's nephew (although he hasn't met him), is still 19, and played in the Knights' Jersey Flegg grand final side last season.
But he's about to grow up quick. With Danny Buderus suspended until round four, and regular back-up Luke Quigley picking up an ankle injury, Seu Seu may start against the Bulldogs on March 18.
Asked about Smith's compliment, Seu Seu even managed to turn his star turn into a scene from Jerry Maguire: "That's good news, I have been waiting for him to sign me during the week, too … I come off contract this year and hope to sign up for another couple of years.
"Danny is the number one, he is the one I look up to and watch videos on him … anytime you get to work with the best you can't give up that opportunity. I want to learn from the best and get some more experience. Anything he says goes for me."
It took two Adam Woolnough tries in the final five minutes to give the Knights victory, the prop saying a "tiny little rev-up" at half-time by Smith was the catalyst for his heroics.
Still, Smith admits he has some "sorting out to do" before round one, although he was heartened by the performances of Woolnough, Clint Newton, and his two wingers, James McManus and Akuila Uate.
"At one stage I thought we were going to have to pay the electricity bill before we scored a try," Smith said.
But the win at least counted for something: "There's a truckload of improvement in us, [but] they could have easily parked the bus - at one stage, I was about to park it for them. But they kept fighting."
This was one of those trial situations - not uncommon - when the losing coach is happy and the winning coach is not. Certainly, in the first half, the Sharks were far superior, with Brett Kimmorley pulling the strings with aplomb to give his side a 10-0 buffer.
Sharks coach Ricky Stuart rested his star player for the second half - and by the final quarter most of the players you'd expect to play in round one against Penrith were sitting next to him on the sidelines.
Both sides struggled with ball control, although to be fair the conditions were slippery and night-vision goggles weren't included in the kit bags.
"I spoke to Noddy [Kimmorley] before the game, and said I wanted to get to half-time and be happy with the first 40 minutes, and then I wanted to rest some individuals, and we did that," Stuart said. "We used up 30 players - we used a number of players who were in our Premier League game. It's good for them to get a bit of first-grade experience, because you never know when you're going to need to call upon them. There's improvement there, but we're going forward."
Kimmorley said: "In the first half we played really well. I think we bombed about five or six tries. Even though we haven't scored many points, from what we have shown, we can improve on it."
Both sides emerged relatively unscathed, with Phil Leuluai (ankle) and Craig Stapleton (concussion) Stuart's only concerns. However, he is in the enviable position of still having Paul Gallen, Adam Dykes, David Simmons and Lance Thompson to return.
Smith is similarly blessed, with Buderus and a certain halfback still to play their first matches of 2007. "Whatever it is we start with, it ain't going to be the same within two or three weeks, you can bet your life," Smith said. They may not have night vision, but at least someone's got Knight vision.
IT WASN'T just the quality of lighting at Cessnock Sports Ground that made this a relatively dark night for Newcastle. Andrew Johns's late withdrawal - putting him in doubt for round one - and a lackadaisical display for 75 of the 80 minutes made sure Knights coach Brian Smith was using words like "disappointed" and "embarrassing" post-match rather than confident and uplifting. But there was one portion of the Knights' 12-10 win over Cronulla on Saturday night which gave him renewed hope for the season.
Hooker Terence Seu Seu shone far brighter than the humble floodlights at the ground and, according to Smith, may well have played himself into the Knights' squad for round one. "He's a player, that boy," Smith said.
And coincidentally, he almost is still a boy.
Seu Seu, who says former Kiwi prop Jerry Seu Seu is "apparently" his grandfather's nephew (although he hasn't met him), is still 19, and played in the Knights' Jersey Flegg grand final side last season.
But he's about to grow up quick. With Danny Buderus suspended until round four, and regular back-up Luke Quigley picking up an ankle injury, Seu Seu may start against the Bulldogs on March 18.
Asked about Smith's compliment, Seu Seu even managed to turn his star turn into a scene from Jerry Maguire: "That's good news, I have been waiting for him to sign me during the week, too … I come off contract this year and hope to sign up for another couple of years.
"Danny is the number one, he is the one I look up to and watch videos on him … anytime you get to work with the best you can't give up that opportunity. I want to learn from the best and get some more experience. Anything he says goes for me."
It took two Adam Woolnough tries in the final five minutes to give the Knights victory, the prop saying a "tiny little rev-up" at half-time by Smith was the catalyst for his heroics.
Still, Smith admits he has some "sorting out to do" before round one, although he was heartened by the performances of Woolnough, Clint Newton, and his two wingers, James McManus and Akuila Uate.
"At one stage I thought we were going to have to pay the electricity bill before we scored a try," Smith said.
But the win at least counted for something: "There's a truckload of improvement in us, [but] they could have easily parked the bus - at one stage, I was about to park it for them. But they kept fighting."
This was one of those trial situations - not uncommon - when the losing coach is happy and the winning coach is not. Certainly, in the first half, the Sharks were far superior, with Brett Kimmorley pulling the strings with aplomb to give his side a 10-0 buffer.
Sharks coach Ricky Stuart rested his star player for the second half - and by the final quarter most of the players you'd expect to play in round one against Penrith were sitting next to him on the sidelines.
Both sides struggled with ball control, although to be fair the conditions were slippery and night-vision goggles weren't included in the kit bags.
"I spoke to Noddy [Kimmorley] before the game, and said I wanted to get to half-time and be happy with the first 40 minutes, and then I wanted to rest some individuals, and we did that," Stuart said. "We used up 30 players - we used a number of players who were in our Premier League game. It's good for them to get a bit of first-grade experience, because you never know when you're going to need to call upon them. There's improvement there, but we're going forward."
Kimmorley said: "In the first half we played really well. I think we bombed about five or six tries. Even though we haven't scored many points, from what we have shown, we can improve on it."
Both sides emerged relatively unscathed, with Phil Leuluai (ankle) and Craig Stapleton (concussion) Stuart's only concerns. However, he is in the enviable position of still having Paul Gallen, Adam Dykes, David Simmons and Lance Thompson to return.
Smith is similarly blessed, with Buderus and a certain halfback still to play their first matches of 2007. "Whatever it is we start with, it ain't going to be the same within two or three weeks, you can bet your life," Smith said. They may not have night vision, but at least someone's got Knight vision.
