Houston pinpoints draining first half

Hunter Ports Newcastle Knights second rower Chris Houston claims the large defensive workload his side produced in the first half didn’t help their cause, taking a physical toll on the side.

Speaking after the 24-6 loss to the Roosters at Allianz Stadium, Houston believes the Roosters went a long way to winning the game in the first 40 minutes, despite only leading by a penalty goal at the break.

“They controlled the ball well in the first half,” Houston said.

“Even though we were pretty even on the scoreboard they probably had a bit more gas left in the tank.”

“It probably got us in the end of the game.”

Some questioned the Roosters’ decision to go for goal when try was on offer, but others see it as a compliment to the strength of the Knights’ defence.

“Our goal line defence has been pretty good throughout parts of the year, so that’s probably why they did it,” Houston said.

“It’s just disappointing that we lost. It’s probably good that they didn’t put a cricket score on us, but at the end of the day we didn’t get the two points and it’s pretty disappointing.”

Next Up
In Round 10 the Newcastle Knights welcome the North Queensland Cowboys to Hunter Stadium next Saturday at 7:30pm.