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Simpson laments sin-bin incident
BY ROBERT DILLON
KNIGHTS warhorse Steve Simpson admitted he felt like he let his teammates down last night after his second-half sin-binning proved a turning point in Newcastle's 24-2 loss to Brisbane.
Simpson was marched for 10 minutes by referee Tony Archer after Brisbane fullback Karmichael Hunt made a break in the 61st minute and was not allowed to regain his feet promptly to play the ball.
At the time, the score was 10-2 to Brisbane, but by the time he returned the score was 20-2 in favour of the home side with only nine minutes to play.
Many felt Archer's call was hasty and Knights coach Brian Smith said it was "one of many things that didn't go right for us tonight".
Asked what he thought of Archer's decision, Smith replied: "A month of Sundays, is the expression that comes to mind, since I've seen one."
A shattered Simpson felt he had been treated harshly but was also kicking himself for taking a fraction too long to release Hunt.
"In hindsight, I wish I had let go a second earlier," Simpson said. "Maybe it was a penalty there, but sin-bin was a bit harsh.
"It's a disappointing way to let the boys down."
Veteran centre Adam MacDougall said it was "a massive call" to sin-bin Simpson.
"That was really the nail in the coffin, wasn't it," he said.
The Knights were also left fuming about Archer's overall performance, in particular his interpretation of the ruck area, even though they won the penalty count 8-7 a rare event this season.
"Without doubt, it was the slowest game of football that we've played this year, from our attack point of view," Smith said.
"It was pathetic at times."
Asked whether it was the same for both sides, Smith replied: "I'll sit back and let you work that out."
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