Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Newcastle Knights
Date: Saturday July 30
Venue: Belmore Oval
Kick off: 3pm
Teams:
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
1. Bryce Donovan, 2. Tom Hughes 3. Ryan Walker, 4. Chanel Mata’utia, 5. Akuila Uate, 6. Jaelen Feeney, 7. Will Pearsall, 8. Uiti Baker, 9. Krys Freeman, 10. Tama Koopu, 11. Ben Stone, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13. Luke Yates, 14. Kurt Aldridge, 15. Sam Bernstrom, 16. Michael Steele, 17. Bradie Smith, 18.
CANTERBURY BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
1. Bradley Abbey, 2. Marcelo Montoya, 3. Kerrod Holand, 4. Reubenn Rennie, 5. T Phillips, 6. Matthew Frawley, 7. Harrison Siejka, 8. Makahesi Makatoa, 9. Craig Garvey, 10. Lloyd Perrett, 11. L Manuel-Liolevave, 12. Asipeli Fine, 13. Graham Clark. Interchange: 14. Bronson Garlick, Raymond Moujalli, 16. George Tsikrikas, 23. Jake Kamire.
Match analysis:
The Newcastle Knights will muster their energy and strength for a match against the Canterbury-Bankstown on Saturday at Belmore Oval.
The side heads into the game on a short turn around following a Round 13 catch up match on Wednesday evening against the Manly Sea Eagles.
Although the Knights didn’t come away from the encounter with two points, coach Matt Lantry was happy with the side’s energy and attitude.
“I thought we were really competitive for a long period of the game which was pleasing to see,” he said.
“Our guys had a good attitude, we possibly just lacked a little bit of class in the end that Manly had over us.”
The Knights remained within reach of a win until the final 15 minutes but a late try by Manly sealed their 28-10 victory.
“The one thing we lacked was a bit of quality execution with our spine playing together for the first time,” he said.
Krys Freeman resumed hooking duties after an extended recovery following a broken arm. Jaelen Feeney also played his first game back in six weeks after an ankle injury while Jake McNamara, an NYC mainstay, made his debut in reserve grade.
“I thought they did well but will be ready for the run,’ he said.
Lantry praised debutant McNamara for his effort in the challenging game.
“The good thing about Jake is he steps up and wants to be involved in the game. He's not one to sit back,” he said.
“I was really proud of the playing group as our 17 players went there with the right attitude and were tremendous with their application in the game for the full 80 minutes."
With the Bulldogs at 10th place on the table, the team is sure to find motivation in the desire to move towards the top eight.
Bulldogs' centre Kerrod Holland is a familiar face in the white and blue after playing with the Reserve Grade Knights last season.
“He’s gone on in leaps and bounds,” he said.
“They have a really good team with standouts like Holland, Reubenn Rennie, Craig Garvie and Lloyd Perretts is by far their best player and a dangerous ball player in the front row.”
Back rower Asipeli Fine was also a part of the NSW Residents representative side at the beginning of the year.
“There are some key guys there we will need to make sure we are good on,” he said.
“They are making a real late charge and have battled throughout the start of the year with injuries throughout the season.
“They beat the Illawarra Cutters in the weekend 30 nil, so they are making a statement.
“We need to look forward and ensure we take that same good attitude into the Bulldogs game.”
Where it will be won:
Execution.
“I think it’s easy to make excuses coming off a midweek game being sore and tired after a physical encounter against Manly," Lantry said.
“We will keep things quite simple and roll through the same line around our attitude.
“If our attitude is good and we apply ourselves we will be there about like we were with Manly and hopefully we can execute a little bit better to score some points.”
