While the Newcastle Knights made solid improvements against the Manly Sea Eagles on Monday, it wasn’t enough to earn a win at Hunter Stadium.
“We were really confident going into Monday’s game but it just didn’t click for us,” Sione Mata’utia said on Tuesday.
“We made it hard for ourselves from the start. The first errors and play-one errors as well meant we shot ourselves in the foot.
“Manly kept capitalising and played really well.”
Injury also struck the side heavily on Monday with Sione’s brother Peter suffering a knee injury in his first game since re-joining the Club that week.
“He’s pretty gutted and he’s a bit unlucky, but that’s footy and stuff like that happens,” he said.
“You just have to bounce back.”
The youngest of the four Mata’utia brothers now at the Club was pleased with his defensive efforts during the Round 8 match.
“I thought our right edge defended really well and was probably the best we have defended so far,” he said.
“I can still see there is a lot to fix in my personal game, we just have to practice on that.
“It’s something I have been working on pretty hard in the pre-season.
“One of the attributes I want is to be a strong defensive player.
“Once I get that part started I will focus on the attacking part."
The Knights now look to the next opportunity to improve against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
"It’s always a hard game against the Roosters especially with Jarrod Waerea-Hargreaves,” he said.
“With the Roosters getting their players back, that’s obviously pretty crucial for them."
