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As the youngest ever nib Newcastle Knights captain, 20-year-old Sione Mata’utia would have loved to get across the line against the North Queensland Cowboys.

“It was an honour to be announced as captain,” he told Knights TV in the sheds after the match.

“It would have been good to get the chocolates.”

Changing from his usual spot in the forwards to five-eighth, Mata’utia admits the side is continuing to improve, but there are costly errors that need to be fixed up.

“It is the little things that we need to fix up,” commented Mata’utia.

“The good thing is they are easy to fix and we’ll be on to the next game.”

Mata’utia said future Knight Kalyn Ponga was handy for the Cowboys with the fullback putting two tries on the board.

“It is good knowing that we have him for next year,” he said.

“He played really well, he is a rising star.

“Their whole team capitalised on the opportunities a lot better than we did.”

The 20-year-old believes the 24-12 loss against the Cowboys won’t dampen their spirits.

“There is another opportunity to win, that is all the motivation we need and we are a good chance of getting that,” explained Mata’utia.

“We have just got to go back to the drawing board and we’ve got to move on quickly to the (Gold Coast) Titans.

“They are playing some good footy and they are coming off a hard loss to the (Brisbane) Broncos so we’re going to be ready and hopefully we get the win.”

The Knights take on the Titans next Saturday at CBus Super Stadium.