NYC Newcastle Knights coach Todd Lowrie admits his side came close but not close enough in their elimination final against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday night.
A disappointed Lowrie said that while his side showed plenty of heart, they simply did not stick to their game plan for the full 80 minutes.
“We just didn’t do what we spoke about doing,” Lowrie explained.
“We didn’t play well in the first half... but in the second half we actually played well and played to our strengths.
“We were 20 odd points behind by then but clawed our way back and got within two points with a few minutes to go.”
The NYC coach said despite the fight back, Brisbane were just too good on the day.
“There were a couple of costly errors towards the end of the game and we were just beaten by a side that was a little better on the day,” stated Lowrie.
“They were good and that’s what makes it a little bit more disappointing, knowing that we had a chance to beat them.
“Our guys tried really hard but unfortunately their guys were just a little bit too good for us.”
That is the Under 20s' final game, with a change to the format in store for 2018.
