The Newcastle Knights have found some stability off the field with the help of the NRL following Saturday's announcement about the Club's ownership model, now they need to do likewise on the field.
That's the message from coach and captain in the wake of the Club's disappointing 29-12 loss to the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
"Well it is a starting point. It’s not stable yet," coach Wayne Bennett said.
"The NRL have done a really good job to get it to that position, and Nathan’s (Tinkler) put us in a much better position than we were three years ago, so hopefully in the next few months when it’s really sorted out and finalised totally, then it will be a new beginning, but it’s not there yet."
Captain Kurt Gidley added, "I guess it’s just nice to have the ownership finalised, there has been uncertainty, I suppose, and negative press about the club ongoing for years now really, and I’m as passionate about the club as anyone.
"It hurts me when people write or report negative stuff about the club, so hopefully we've some positive stuff going forward, and from a player’s point of view, we need to get it sorted on the field."
A disappointed Bennett said the Knights must learn from their mistakes moving forward from Saturday night's seventh-straight loss.
"I don’t think there has been a game all year where we haven’t been in it, but we just find a way to get ourselves out of it," Bennett stresses.
"The second half was just a litany of errors.
"The effort is there, you could see that again tonight.
"We just find a way to beat ourselves.
"It turned on those two kicks where we dropped the ball and they just killed us for a team that’s playing their hearts out but not lacking a little bit of confidence.
"We were doing it pretty well and then we gifted two tries to the opposition and we’ve gone from 12-6 to 18-12 and it makes it hard for them after that."
Gidley, meanwhile, believed Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves should have been penalised for a raised forearm to the throat of teammate Jeremy Smith in a tackle midway through the second half.
"I think he runs with it (elbow) raised," he said.
"As much as we are trying to protect players and probably lower leg injuries, getting hit in the throat is as bad as anything.
"So personally I do think he runs with it raised and there are probably a few blokes that will back that up in my team tonight."
Bennett agreed with his skipper, admitting the incident should have come under greater scrutiny.
"The good example is the Jermey Smith incident," he says.
"If that’s acceptable in the game, then the game has got to change enormously.
"We all saw it on replay, the video ref saw it and they obviously all thought it was acceptable.
"But anybody that knows rugby league knows that’s not acceptable.
"That was their take on it tonight, so we’ll see what the future holds.”
Bennett confirmed centre Joey Leilua (throat) and Origin duo Beau Scott and Darius Boyd should return for next Monday's crucial Round 15 clash against the North Queensland Cowboys at Hunter Stadium.
Young forward Joseph Tapine will have precautionary scans after hyper-extending his elbow early in the second half, however is expected to be available next weekend.
