A disappointed coach Nathan Brown and captain Trent Hodkinson spoke to the media following Friday night's 40-0 loss to the Penrith Panthers.
“From a physical point of view our defence around the ruck, which has been really good in the first three games, was poor,” Brown assessed.
“I don’t look at it as going back, it’s just a good lesson.”
The Knights coach acknowledged Penrith played well.
“Penrith aren’t the premiership favourites for no reason,” Brown commented.
“They got us today and they were far more committed in the middle part of the field.
“They showed when they got it right how skilful they are.”
Brown said his young side will learn from the loss.
“We let ourselves down in a couple of the key parts of the day,” he said.
“We played three games this year, all three we could’ve won.
“Today we didn’t do it well and that’s a good lesson from that point of view.”
The Knights coach praised new recruit Joe Wardle, on his NRL debut.
“I thought Joe was good considering the limited preparation he’s had,” added Brown.
“I’m sure he’ll tell you himself the pace of the game over here is a little bit different.
“I thought he was certainly one of our better players.”
Knights captain Trent Hodkinson admitted Penrith played a dominant match.
“It was very fast and very quick, they were getting a role on and it just felt like we were continually on the back foot,” Hodkinson explained.
“It was a tough match, credit to the Panthers they rolled right through us tonight and capitalised on what they did.”
The Knights take on the Cronulla Sharks in Round 5, next Saturday at Shark Park.
