Round 7: Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks

[Queenslander]

Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks

Monday 30th April, 7PM; EnergyAustralia Stadium


Referee: Jared Maxwell

Team Notes:

Knights

Sharks

Teams:

Knights

Kurt Gidley
James McManus
Adam MacDougall
Brad Tighe
Todd Polglase
Daniel Abraham
Jarrod Mullen
Josh Perry
Danny Buderus
Adam Woolnough
Steve Simpson
Clint Newton
Kirk Reynoldson
Interchange:

Riley Brown
Matthew White
Cory Paterson
Daniel Tolar
George Carmont
Jesse Royal
Mark Taufua
Sharks

1 Brett Kearney
2 David Simmons
3 Ben Pomeroy
4 Fraser Anderson
5 Luke Covell
6 Adam Dykes
7 Brett Kimmorley
8 Ben Ross
9 Kevin Kingston
10 Luke Douglas
11 Paul Gallen
12 Lance Thompson
13 Greg Bird
Interchange:

14 Craig Stapleton
15 Jacob Selmes
16 Reece Williams
17 Isaac De Gois
19 Dayne Weston

[Capital_Shark]

UP UP CRONULLA!

We need to win this one cause I'm fair consigned to a loss across the water next weekend. I guess rep selections are a side effect of having the best back row in the comp though..

Sharks 1-12 with Brett Kearney first try scorer @ $12.00

[Queenslander]

HALF TIME


Newcastle Knights 8
Tries: Kirk Reynoldson
Goals: Kurt Gidley (2/2)
Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 4
Tries: David Simmons
Goals: Luke Covell (0/1)

[Queenslander]

FULL TIME


Newcastle Knights 20
Tries: Kirk Reynoldson (2), Kurt Gidley
Goals: Kurt Gidley (4/4)

Defeated

Cronulla Sharks 16
Tries: David Simmons (2), Ben Pomeroy
Goals: Luke Covell (2/3)

[Future Star]

Woo.
Go Knights!

Kurt Gidley is one of the form players of the comp.
NSW Jersey perhaps?

[jenny]

Knights hold on for win

Greg Prichard | May 1, 2007

Knights 20 Sharks 16

NEWCASTLE coach Brian Smith was pumped up, proud and delighted to say he would be going home with a smile on his face after his side took their first big step since the retirement of Andrew Johns.

Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart was in a decidedly different mood, wearing a scowl as he rubbished suggestions the Sharks could win the premiership and questioned the attitude of some of his players.

Stuart clearly believed that among the seven Sharks who had been selected to play in the City-Country game in Coffs Harbour on Thursday night there were at least some who had allowed themselves to become distracted and lose focus on last night's game at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

"We spoke about it this morning," Stuart said. "I was very paranoid about a couple of things and we spoke about it again before the game. I asked them [if it was a distraction] and they said it wasn't. But I tend to not agree.

"People are saying we can win the comp - that's a joke. We're nowhere near winning the comp, we're nowhere near making the eight. It's very disappointing, because, being realistic, we haven't beaten anyone so far this year.

"You have to be mentally prepared, but we weren't there tonight. Our attack was a debacle. Either the players don't want to listen to what we're trying to put into our attack or they don't want to do it."

The fact the Sharks came from 20-4 down midway through the second half to trail by just four points with five minutes to go - making it an uncomfortable finish for the Knights and their fans - was of zero comfort to Stuart, who said there wasn't a single positive he could take out of the game.

Halfback Brett Kimmorley, one of the Sharks who will play in the City-Country match, had an up-and-down game, but at least tried to get involved and make things happen. He has been around for long enough not to let representative selection distract him. Asked if he thought some of the other rep players from the team had been distracted, he said only they could answer that question.

But it was obvious Kimmorley, too, had concerns about the mental state of the team, when he said: "We had a crappy warm-up. Then we didn't set a very good trend [in defence] in the first set and they just steamrolled us for most of the game."

Cronulla still should have gone to half-time in front. They led 4-2 from the 17th minute until inside the final minute before the break, when Newcastle lock Kirk Reynoldson charged over for a try.That proved decisive, because the Knights were able to go to the break on the boil, leading 8-4, while the Sharks had their heads down. Tries in the 55th and 58th minutes allowed Newcastle to bolt to a 20-4 lead. Cronulla crossed in the 70th and 75th minutes to make it close, but Stuart said that had as much to do with the Knights having run out of interchanges and tiring as anything else.

It was clear all three of the Newcastle players who will take part in the City-Country game were switched on last night.

Newcastle won their first game after superstar halfback Johns was forced to retire because of a neck injury, but that was a very scrappy affair against South Sydney. Then they lost at home to Brisbane last weekend, when the official farewell for Johns was scheduled around the game. Now the smoke has begun to clear on the post-Joey era and last night's determined win was a peek at the Knights of the future.

"It was a tremendous effort," Smith said of the win, which had been achieved by a team that had significant changes forced upon it by injury. "I'm going home with a smile on my face and knowing I've got a team that can compete for 80 minutes.

"We haven't got that precision and combinations at this point that is going to blow other teams away - that is going to take time - so if you're a Newcastle fan take your heart pills, because that is how we're likely to win for the time being."

NEWCASTLE 20 (K Reynoldson 2 K Gidley tries K Gidley 4 goals) bt CRONULLA 16 (D Simmons 2 B Pomeroy tries L Covell 2 goals) at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Referee: J Maxwell. Crowd: 15,453.
Sydney Morning Herald