After the Newcastle Knights succumbed to a revived Parramatta Eels at Hunter Stadium on Sunday, Robbie Rochow spoke to his reflective teammates in the sheds after the game.
While the Eels dominated the back end of the game, the Knights showed glimmers of flair with a number of tries scored by the side’s outside backs.
Winger James McManus powered over the line in the 56th minute after collecting a ball from his centre Joey Leilua.
Despite the try, which was a timely answer to the Eels' retaliation against the Knights’ half time lead, Newcastle’s defence fell short and was unable to hold the opposition out.
“I’m pretty disappointed obviously, we probably scored enough points to win, but just probably gave up a bit too much ball,” McManus said.
“We defended that line for most of that second half, they have too many attacking weapons to give them that many plays on your end.
“We paid the price for it again.
“It was a tough loss and I thought we played well in patches.
“At the end of the day being put under pressure and trying to score points is hard to do when you come up against a team like Parramatta.”
Veteran lock Jeremy Smith lamented the Knights’ consecutive loss but assured the side had learned valuable lessons from the experience.
“I’m very disappointed mate,” he told Rochow.
“We just have to hang in their during the tough times.
“The tide will change, it’s just hanging tough during tough times.”
Smith shifted focus to the Knights’ impending match up against the North Queensland Cowboys at Hunter Stadium on ANZAC Day.
“We have another tough one next, we have the Cowboys on Anzac Day, after what happened to them when we went up there I dare say it’s going to be another physical encounter,” he said.
“We have to prepare well and get ready to get back into battle.”
