The Newcastle Knights' early unbeaten record is no fluke, but rather reflects on the determination to set a benchmark according to captain Kurt Gidley.
“I think the first three games we’ve been consistent and that’s what’s won us the games," Gidley said.
“We have to keep that going and work on our attack and execution.
“We’ve played against some really good halves in (Shaun) Johnston and (Jonathan) Thurston.
“They are some of the best in the game... so I think that’s a pat on the back.
“There hasn’t been a great deal defensively that we’ve done wrong.
“I don’t believe three games is a fluke and I don’t believe our fans think that.
“The first game we wanted to get off to a good start to show them what the Newcastle Knights are about in 2015.
"To come from behind against the Cowboys in round two shows plenty of courage and character.
“And last week we probably lost our way a little bit in the second half, but we still believed we could win that game right up until the last try when Jeremy (Smith) scored off a great ball from (Adam) Clydsdale."
A never-say-die attitude has helped the Knights in two challenging games on the road.
“We believed in all the games that we could win, we chipped away at it and we’ve never given up," the skipper added.
“That’s a great attribute to have."
Gidley says the team is approaching the Round 4 match on home turf as a must-win.
“Each game has been more important than the previous one and this one is more important than the last three,” he admitted.
“We want to keep this momentum that we’ve got, keep the confidence in the team and want to keep delivering for our fans."
While Gidley admits the Knights’ execution needs to improve, he assured the team is working hard in this area.
“Our good ball and attacking sets haven’t been great,” he said.
“We have probably had a bit of dropped ball in our attacking sets and even the finish to our sets with our kick. We haven’t had a great deal of repeat sets.
“We are aware of that and have been training pretty hard on finishing our sets well and working on having everyone know their role in those attacking sets.
“We certainly want to keep that resilience over the last three week, defence is what has won us the game.”
