Despite the Newcastle Knights NYC loss to the Sydney Roosters on Friday night, captain Danny Levi believes there were plenty of positives to take out of the game.
“We were all disappointed but there are a few things that we did get out of that game,” he told teammate Tama Koupu in the sheds.
“Our defence is really key.
"We slipped up a bit and played most of the second half in our 30.
“When we do have the ball, we can score points, it’s just being able to hold onto the ball a bit longer in the game.
“If we held onto the ball, we can score points- we just have to keep them down their end."
The Knights have enjoyed time on top of the table with Levi confident the boys have what it takes to finish the season strongly.
“I know we can do heaps better than that, it’s just not our day," Levi added.
“We’re taking that in our stride and hopefully next week we’ll be better."
It wasn’t the ideal debut in the Knights NYC side for Maitland bred, Brock Lamb, but he was still beaming after the game and grateful for the experience.
“It was a good and tough game, I’m just glad I got my debut over and done with and I can move on to next week if I get a go," Lamb said.
“That’s what I looked forward to in tonight and getting to know how everyone plays as a team and everyone builds on each other.
“Hopefully I can work with that and can push through the next couple of years with them.
“I’ve come through the Knights system and have just been trying to get a crack here, and finally I’ve got a crack, so I hope to take it with both hands and keep going."
Mick Reid, NYC's strength and conditioning coach, said the team did a great job in the first forty minutes, but let down its effort in the second half.
“We came out with a game plan, but we didn’t follow it, so what we need to do is stick to our game plan and we’ll be sorted,” Reid said.
“I think we need to work on momentum and when we get down to their territory we need to put them to the sword a little bit.
“We just haven’t learnt to put a team away as well as what we should."
As the team approaches the home stretch of the season, Reid said the NYC Knights have plenty to aim for.
“We have the last 5 games at home and the semi finals coming up," Reid added.
“It’s all something to strive to finish on one or two and then get a couple bites of the cherry.
“We are a good side and need to focus on that and have faith.”
