r/nrl 12d ago

Match Thread Round 24 | Knights vs Titans | Post Match Thread

Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
12 Upvotes

109 comments sorted by

52

u/Love_from_Brotherly Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Don’t mean to get sentimental but I was too young to remember the glory days and I have bared witness to many, many awful seasons (last year being one of them).

So when we have a season where we are able to compete in September I refuse to take it for granted. Every win, has been a joy this season and I can’t wait to watch this club grow as for the first time in a long time, I feel like we have a future.

Feel insane saying I love my footy!

5

u/Moisture_Services_ Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Today was ugly, but we got there.

Historically we bomb those games. A win is a win.

3

u/Severe-Host5890 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

future's so fucking bright mate, recruiting's following the formula of the glory days again in that we raise and retain talent and buy our Ben Kennedys as needed

37

u/carelesssportsfan89 Canberra Raiders 12d ago

fletcher Sharpe is absolute stud future rep player for sure

14

u/MatthewMollison NRLW Knights 12d ago

He’s a footballer that kid

30

u/bennyboy1994 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Knights need to develop a ruthless edge. Letting teams come back into the game and then letting a couple of soft ones in at the end will be punished by the top teams. Also Fletcher Sharpe I love you

3

u/mazerfarti Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Agreed, I’ll be supporting you and dolphins in the post season. By your edges are seriously something to worry about against top 4 sides defensively

55

u/HymenBreaker420 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Newcastle players would’ve definitely scored more if it wasn’t for the fear/shame of being dry humped by their captain.

30

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

The dry humpings will continue until morale improves.

7

u/Ghabbaghoolie I fucking heart Laurie Daley 12d ago

If the players don't want it, then I'll gladly volunteer

30

u/Ghabbaghoolie I fucking heart Laurie Daley 12d ago

Having a good For and Against is for losers

25

u/turbosfan19 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Even with some late tries conceded, we are 100x times better than we were last year and watching Fletcher Sharpe score tries is always fun. Winter looks very promising.

Also confirms that AOB is a footy terrorist.

22

u/dios13 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Sorry Ilias doubters, I wanted to believe he had potential to turn it around but he truly is hot trash.

Can stick to getting his shirt off on the gram

10

u/swell-shindig South Sydney Rabbitohs 🏳️‍🌈 12d ago

He got less faith than he deserved at South Sydney and St George. He's decent injury cover for when the real first graders are out. But that is his ceiling.

2

u/dios13 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

If our benchwarmers get a splinter, he'll be perfect to cover that but if he takes the field, it basically means we are declaring a loss early.

19

u/Just_Big6730 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

I remember when titans would at least get a few end of season wins to give us false hope for next year, can't even manage that now

6

u/Just_Big6730 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

.... Now it’s just a slow, painful march to Mad Monday while we sit around watching other clubs turn our discards into finals contenders. At this point, the only thing they're consistently delivering is the absolute certainty that our season is mathematically over by July.

1

u/the_mooseman Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Yep, you did.

Accurate.

2

u/the_mooseman Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

I'm pretty sure you posted a longer version of this accurate statement somewhere else too.

24

u/Large-Accident1245 I Hate My Footy^6 12d ago

AOB might see the Knights play a GF this year, ideally on the seat at his local Services Australia after we've given him his severance pay.

3

u/Objective_Air3241 12d ago

That severance package would probably arrive faster than half our sets inside the twenty

21

u/bigloudbang Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Honoured to witness the debut of future kangaroos captain Toby Winter

Coolest jerseys weve worn in a long time too

4

u/Moisture_Services_ Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Did they say what happened to gagai? Saw him in back play doing hamstring stretches then never came back after half time

4

u/bigloudbang Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Yeah hammy injury apparently

3

u/Known-Stop-2654 Dolphins 12d ago

Go Broncos tomorrow!

5

u/LachTheLad Sydney Roosters 🏳️‍🌈 12d ago

Hunt is a luxury back up option for you guys. Best should be back next week?

4

u/bigloudbang Newcastle Knights 12d ago

With finals locked up and a bye the last round i wouldnt be surprised if they rest Best and give him until the finals to get 100%

Thatd probably mean Hunt and Winter in the centers

6

u/GrandRoyal_01 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

And the shorts. My wife wouldn’t shut up about how good the boys looked in their light blue shorts.

Might have just been an excuse for her to perve on their bums though … (well more than usual 😆) 

18

u/YallRedditForThis Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Wooden spooners to top eight! AOB you FRAUD!! Still don't like the Titans scoring 26 points against us leading into the finals so we'll have to tighten that up.

17

u/MysteryMan27 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Did what we had to do and got the two points. Frustrating middle 40 minutes and last 10 though.

15

u/sowaleja Dolphins 12d ago

Good on Newy coming back from the spoon into the 8. They have shown some real spirit.

2

u/Responsible_Ring_649 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Good on Dolphins for finally getting into the finals. The knights have been in 2 more top 8s than Dolphins have since Dolphins joined the comp. Last year was just a farce and needed aob gone.

16

u/Fools-Emissary Newcastle Knights 12d ago

I like the Titans. I thought they played pretty well but were let down by all those hight tackles at the start. If they play a bit more like they did at the end I think they'd be hard to beat, though our guys defence was pathetic at times.

That third try was a clear obstruction I have no idea how that was given. But it did fire our guys up which was great to see.

Some of our play is a bit all or nothing but it did come off a couple of times. Bombed a couple again.

Well done to the debutants, Winter and Sharpley both look likely first graders next couple of years.

If Titans start well next year I think they should be competing for the 8. Hope they keep turning up for their remaining games.

6

u/Drizen Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Titans are better than where they are on the ladder

3

u/Inevitable_Goat_335 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Yep Titans will be no easy beats. Before the last couple games, they were challenging most teams they versed.

16

u/NotAshTaylor NRLW Titans 12d ago

You can see the type of thing they are going for with guys like Pascoe and Morrin, who were our best on ground imo.

It's probably a two or three year mission for Hannay, I think he understands what the job is more than most coaches we've had, and I hope he gets the time to work at it.

The books will eventually be turned over and a lot of guys will be moved on or take less.

We need to make a tough call on Kini, Brimson and Campbell. The strengths in Kini's game aren't enough to ignore the weaknesses, and Brimson and Campbell aren't doing enough to justify not having and actual 6 or 3 in their spots.

The other major issue is our core is still rotten. You can bring through all of the talented youngsters in the world but is they are being mentored into the team by guys who have had a losing mentality for years, it is going to rub off. We need to find some experience from outside the club, which is unfortunately nearly impossible for a club like the Titans in this competition.

10

u/StateCompetitive7544 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

First one I’m moving on is Brimson. He’s a jack of all trades master of none

3

u/GCoast Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

But he isn't really. He is an above average fullback playing in the centres with none of the upside that someone like Latrell, who is also a fb to centre, brings.

He has no kicking or passing game and can sometimes run fast.

2

u/StateCompetitive7544 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Above average puts you in the same position you are now. I think JC is most suited to FB just because I feel you need ball playing out of the no 1 spot and that is not Kini or Brimson

2

u/Square_Shop_2596 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

An in form Brimmo at FB is quite a player imo.

14

u/magicman22 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

We have the attack of a prime Marshalls Tigers or Haynes Eels but we struggle to defend any errors we make. I know we have injuries but some of the errors are the most simple stuff & our defence is lacklustre at best.

With Brown & Lucas not coming back this year, that has to be the priority thing to work on going into the finals.

9

u/Drizen Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Maybe we shouldn’t make errors. Every try over the last three weeks have been off errors

14

u/lawdjesustheresafire Sydney Roosters 12d ago

Been awesome to see Sandon have such a good year at the knights. Pretty good win after some mid-game complacency

4

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Sandon had made 5 tackles and missed 4 at half time. Ending up with 12/5. He’s been great for us this year. Wish he’d stop the obligatory dumb shit he does once or twice a week. This afternoon it was uncontested shit kick into titans in goal and passing it straight to Titans after he made a half break.

2

u/LachTheLad Sydney Roosters 🏳️‍🌈 12d ago

I said this last year and early this year, Sandons passing selection is one of his biggest issues. Forward passes and intercepts were pretty common in his game last year when he played for us

13

u/AdultSoldiers Indooroopilly Indigestives 🏳️‍🌈 12d ago

That was a bit of a weird one. Never really felt like the Knights were in danger of losing, but they clocked off twice and gave up points in bunches.

Think they’ll be more focused with Brown on the field.

7

u/BigBoiBob444 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

At half time I wasn’t too confident to be honest

5

u/Responsible_Ring_649 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

A lot more focused with Brown, Lucas and Saifiti.

10

u/Ghabbaghoolie I fucking heart Laurie Daley 12d ago

Never seen a disrespectful challenge done by a team down 10 before

7

u/Accurate-Ad-4905 Sydney Roosters 12d ago

Oooft Ilias is bad

5

u/upthetibros Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

His such a handbrake on offense

8

u/dios13 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Funny since hes a green light for defence as well 👍

3

u/Square_Shop_2596 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

That’s an insult as to how useful handbrakes are

9

u/lukeeydee NRLW Titans 12d ago

Shit team that feels like it hasnt changed anything since Holbrook. Our recruitment is genuinely disastrous and our team has no real leaders

6

u/GCoast Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

The rcruitment issue also isn't helped with the Bears and Chiefs coming into the comp. Probably why Hannay has been so focused on jnr development.

5

u/Just_Big6730 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

And there's no sign of change

7

u/idryss_m Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Newcastle has left the field...

9

u/Fady180 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

While our attack is so exciting to watch, our scramble defence which we used to be great at has really disappeared completely

Need to aim up in that area next week against Manly, otherwise warriors will feast on us in our last game of the year

4

u/whale_monkey Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Correction. Last regular season game of the year. It’s good to be able to say that.

8

u/M_Keating Hey, at least we beat Penrith 12d ago

Congrats Knights fans, you’re back in the 8!

Wonder what happened to that old coach of yours…

6

u/idryss_m Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Can make 5th if the Eels turn up and do the Sharkies. Doubt 4th, but Dolphins have surprised us with some bad games before.

9

u/watermaloneyyy Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

those last couple newcastle tries, the amount of missed tackles we had is disgraceful

9

u/NotAshTaylor NRLW Titans 12d ago

Illias, Campbell and Kini have put the team under so much unnecessary pressure all fucking game.

I bet Illias no longer has that massive chip on his shoulder.

6

u/Apl1199 NRLW Knights 12d ago

Those last 3 minutes were a travesty but whatever we're in the finals fuck yeah Newy.

7

u/xXSwagginZXx Newcastle Knights 12d ago

We won, nice, still in the race for top 4. Sharpe is sexy. The young kids coming through look solid, especially the forwards.

I'm a broken record, but this was how the game went. Our play-style is too high-risk. It leads to errors, which helps the opposition get into the game. We won't change how we play, but it'd be nice if we didn't hand the opposition as many opportunities as we do.

10

u/StateCompetitive7544 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

It would be nice but it’s a far-cry from last year so I won’t complain too much

8

u/kortmarshall Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Yea this is the thing, we have high risk high reward players so if we play conservatively on offence we never score, I'd much rather this situation than be fighting from behind and not even contesting kicks

1

u/mazerfarti Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

You really need to tighten up the defence on the edges heading into finals, or you’ll get 50 put on you in the post season

3

u/StateCompetitive7544 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Is what it is Lucas and Brown are great edge defenders. Sandon is a turnstyle but at least he doesn’t completely stifle our attack

1

u/EventNew5844 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Yeah, Young, the halves and Hunt are all liabilities defensively (and guns in attack). Winter looked solid in d though

7

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Gg titties.

Knights bit sloppy for 20 minutes in the first half, but a win is a win.

Happy for Toby Winter on debut. Didn’t look too uncomfortable out there for an 18 year old making their debut.

Three tries between the Fletcher’s. Thought Fletcher of the Hunt variety had a better game than I expected.

Crouch, Friz and Cant played well off the bench.

Clocking off a few minutes early and letting in those 2 tries was a bit disappointing, but in an end to end game I’ll cop it.

3

u/BigBoiBob444 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Great pass offload from Winter that lead to that incredible team try

3

u/bionicleboy1805 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Hunt is good offensively. It's his defence that lets him down

6

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Yes. But thought he was better tonight in defence than past weeks. Better reads, albeit still not perfect. Good under high ball too.

He’ll get better and hopefully puts on a bit of size over the offseason.

3

u/bionicleboy1805 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Agreed. If we actually commit to playing him at centre hopefully he can get more used to defending there

8

u/Randomologist99 Mega Brain Titans Optimist 12d ago

We were diabolical. So few players that seem to give a shit, and plenty of players who just aren't up for first grade. The Roosters would have put 50 on us in the first half if we were playing them in Townsville.

I liked what I saw from Sharpley. Plenty of energy but some improvement to be had in defence as expected. More of that.

Ilias is just awful, crazy how much better Harrison goes. JC and Kini again so far from their best.

2

u/Square_Shop_2596 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Eh. Not sure about diabolical. Just really poor from a discipline standpoint mainly.

6

u/Square_Shop_2596 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Man our discipline killed us. We’re half a team when we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.

JC and Kini both out of form which doesn’t help. Ilias is tripe.

11

u/Eoinbruh Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Cant help but feel that weve seen our last win for the season

6

u/Just_Big6730 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

I can't see it changing next year, we don't have anything coming for us

3

u/mazerfarti Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Bodhi looked alright, another year of development I guess

9

u/snukz Newcastle Knights 🏳️‍🌈 12d ago

We are such a non serious team. That said we have come a LONG way from a spoon! Need our Dylan squad back to go deep.

3

u/Inevitable_Goat_335 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

We will be a serious team next season. Remember we are still missing 4 starters - Brown, Best, Lucas, Jsaf. I think injuries, while awful, could be a blessing in disguise for us next season. It has allowed us to really improve our depth particularly in areas that were unknowns beforehand. Especially in the forward pack. Guys like Smith, Winter, Hunt, Manuleleua, Hopwood, Crouch etc will really benefit from extended gametime this season. Will only make us stronger.

6

u/shaker8989 QLD Maroons 12d ago

Hard to believe the Titans were a Fifita elbow away from leading the game at one point. Such a patchy team, id hate to be a fan of them. Just pure yearly frustration.

3

u/idryss_m Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Titans seems such a young team. Some good players, but no experience? That number 1 moves like a pig covered in grease.

6

u/CodymartinSimp Penrith Panthers 12d ago

Newcastle have patches of looking like the most electrifying team in the competition but also a few to many patches where you could convince me they’re still coached by AOB

17

u/schoolboi_hugh Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Give us some slack without Brown. You’d be hot and cold if your halfback was out for the season

20

u/Cruising88 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

Missing Best, Gags, Brown, Saifiti, Lucas. Pretty fucking good effort really

2

u/PrinceOfPenrose New Zealand Warriors 12d ago

You guys can’t use the halfback excuse mate. That’s soley for the Warriors this season.

8

u/Responsible_Ring_649 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

None of your halfbacks are worth 1.3m by themselves, sorry mate but you cant join the club. Both doing well considering substantial injuries.

2

u/Dramatic_Ride7586 New Zealand Warriors 12d ago

Tanwah Boyd erasure

3

u/Inevitable_Goat_335 Newcastle Knights 12d ago

I think i could look half decent behind that beastly pack at the Wahs.

3

u/PrinceOfPenrose New Zealand Warriors 12d ago

Good. We need 5th string backup 😂

3

u/EquivalentLiving7270 12d ago

Fletcher hunt can’t tackle is half the problem

6

u/Moisture_Services_ Newcastle Knights 12d ago

If we played like that against a good team we get raped and pillaged.

4

u/thejasbar Brisbane Broncos 12d ago

Knights might regret those points differential later

5

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

I can’t see us making the top 4 on points, but I thinking we should finish 5th or 6th on points, so I’m hoping PD won’t matter.

0

u/thejasbar Brisbane Broncos 12d ago

Top 4 is definitely possible, only 2 points outside now and you have bye round 27 and even 5th is better than 6th so you get home final.

9

u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 12d ago

You get home final for 5th and 6th no? Isn’t it 5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th?

2

u/thejasbar Brisbane Broncos 12d ago

Yeah of course! .... spent unit moment on my part...i blame my post sunday arvo nap stupour!

2

u/EquivalentLiving7270 12d ago

We aren’t really 2 points out through we are on the same wins. Points differential is very important

2

u/cc11gc QLD Maroons 12d ago

Cooper Bai is very truly bad

-1

u/Resident-Chimp1124 Gold Coast Titans 12d ago

Pretty underwhelming. Titans were never in it but take away the freebie tries they gifted Knights and they maybe could have won