nib Newcastle Knights forward Jamie Buhrer said he’d like to see more of what they produced last weekend when they go up against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Friday.
“Against the (Cronulla) Sharks I think we did a lot of things well,” said Buhrer.
“The Bulldogs are a very big pack, it’s important we compete similar to what we did last week and hopefully get an even share of possession and ideally get the win.”
The number 12 maintains the Bulldogs play a very different game to a lot of other Clubs.
“A lot of teams play the same shapes and just call them different names but the Bulldogs run a very different type of shape,” Buhrer explained.
“Their forwards out wide can work more or less as ball players so that’s been a focus.
“They like to get their forwards running a bit wider with the way Des (Hasler) plays but I think the back rowers and myself can expect a lot of traffic although that’s nothing we’re not used too.
“They have got halves in Moses Mbye and (Josh) Reynolds and they’re very shifty so it’s important that we cover all bases.”
Buhrer admits he’s played his fair share against the Bulldogs, who are always a formidable opponent.
“It is a tough game when they are coming through the middle,” he said.
“They have got some big boys and those big boys don’t just hit it up for the sake of it, they actually have got a good pass in them as well.
“It is going to be a challenge, they’ve got some good outside backs, origin players and the Morris twins so it’s going to be a tough.
“But we’re at home and after last week we’re quite confident.”
Buhrer said the Knights’ would like nothing more than to have a solid record at home for the fans.
“They have come down and supported us through some trying times this year,” added Buhrer.
“We want to make sure that we put our best foot forward and the challenge for us is to make sure we defend our home patch.”
The second rower said the side has been working hard on the things they can do better.
“The games that we’ve come close in, we’ve identified a number of things that we could have done much better and could have resulted in a win.” said Buhrer.
“We are always working on things, we’re not resting, we want the wins and are looking for the answers.
“If we do a job in the forwards, the dummy half as a rule becomes less effective.
“They have got a lot of big boppers that are capable of getting a role on and if we can minimise that, the rest of it is hopefully not going to be too difficult.”
Buhrer explained he’s happy to play wherever will benefit the team after starting at hooker last week.
“I don’t mind going in the nine, obviously to fill a role especially when Rory (Kostjasyn) is not in the line-up,” he said.
“At the end of the day I truly just want to get some wins so I’ll do whatever is needed to do that.
Meanwhile, Buhrer has indicated representative football is on his mind but ultimately the team comes first.
“I have come up here with the opportunity to grow with the team, with what is a young team, trying to turn the fortunes around and that is my main priority,” Buhrer commented.
“I am really keen for us to take the next step and as a result of that If I’m playing good footy, hell yeah I put my hand up for rep footy.”
NYC and NRL action are back at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday, NYC kick off at 3.45pm before NRL at 6pm.
