After Friday’s match against the Cronulla Sharks played in dreary conditions, Newcastle Knights' Director of Football, Michael Hagan spoke to the Dane Gagai, Akuila Uate and Sione Mata’utia in the sheds.
In the midst of the loss, a breath of positivity came in Uate scoring his 100th try for the Newcastle Knights.
The winger made the incredible achievement when a Jeremy Smith offload travelled through the hands of Tyrone Roberts and Dane Gagai to see Uate slide over on the right edge.
“I’m pretty excited. It would have been good to come up with the win, but that didn’t happen tonight,” Uate said.
“Hopefully we can keep our heads up and get ready for the next game."
Uate said in the lead up to the milestone, he was more focused on playing quality football that would in turn see him cross the line for a try.
“I’ve been telling the boys, don’t worry about the 100 tries. It would be good to just keep winning games this year,” he said.
Another positive for the Club was the announcement strike centre Dane Gagai had extended his contract to remain in Newcastle for an additional two years.
The 24-year-old, who has played 65 matches in the red and blue was excited about his future at the Club.
“It was a disappointing night tonight, but in saying that, I know what this team is capable of, and everyone else here knows what we are capable of,” Gagai said.
“We’re not going to let this get to us in any way. We’re just going to take a couple of days off and prepare for next week and look at turning it around.
“I’m definitely excited to be a part of Newcastle. I had a big decision to make if I was going to stay here or go back.
“I just felt it was right to stay here, the way (Rick) Stoney has taken over and the way where we are heading, I just wanted to be a part of it."
While the Knights weren’t able to stop Cronulla from dominating in attack, Gagai is confident the team will return to its early season form to rectify the loss when it faces the Parramatta Eels on Sunday.
“The Sharks just rolled through our middle and we were on the back foot then we let them made a few breaks down the edges there,” Gagai added.
“That’s definitely something we need to work on, but it’s something we can definitely fix. We know it’s not the best footy we can play.
“It’s just disappointing to let the fans down and each other down.
“I’m just looking forward to getting back into it next week.
“It’s good having those four wins under our belt, I guess it’s just about being to hold that throughout the whole season.
“We haven’t done that throughout these last two games.
“We can turn that around and go back and look at what we need to work on and prepare the best we can.”
Meanwhile, Sione Mata’utia says they will focus on improvements before Round 7. The 18-year-old took the field early after hooker Adam Clydsdale was injured, performing well for the Knights at fullback.
“It was pretty tough, they were on our behinds every set of the play,” Mata’utia said.
“It was a tough one and not the best conditions, but we can’t complain. We still had to hold the ball and the Sharks did that really well.
“I guess at the end of the day, they wanted the win more than us."
Mata'utia remained upbeat despite the loss at Remondis Stadium.
“Every week I seem to build more confidence," he said.
“I think I put too much expectation on myself in Round 1 so, I’m just trying to keep it easy now.
“I’m loving the role of coming off the bench and helping the boys out.
“Every week I just try to do my best and hopefully get better and better.”
The Knights host the Parramatta Eels at Hunter Stadium on Sunday.
