NYC Newcastle Knights coach Todd Lowrie admits it was tough win against the Canberra Raiders last week, a nail biter to the end with a field goal in the final minutes.
“Not a lot went our way and we had to do a hell of a lot of defending so it certainly wasn’t pretty,” Lowrie explained.
“We found a way to win and it was looking a little bit unlikely there for a while but to hold on like we did and manage to kick the field goal at the end was really good and keeps our finals chances alive.”
Ten points down at half time, the Under 20s coach said they spoke about upping their intensity to match the home side.
“Canberra had been really good in the first half and they made us use up a lot of juice,” Lowrie commented.
“We spoke about lifting our intensity to get on top of them to see whether they could come with us.
“They are out of semi-finals contention and so our goal in the second half was to lift our intensity and to their credit they did for most of the half.
“It was right at the end we got over the top of them which was good.”
Knights centre Heath Gibbs proved difficult for the opposition after he recorded the double.
“Gibbs has scored plenty of tries lately, he’s doing really well on his edge and lucky enough to be getting some tries in,” cited Lowrie.
“He worried them with his carries for most of the day in yardage and in good ball.”
Sitting in ninth place on the ladder, a win is a must when they come up against the minor premiers, the Cronulla Sharks, on Sunday for Old Boys day.
The Knights Under 20s side need a win and other games to go their way to have the chance to play finals footy.
“The Sharks are going really well so it is going to be a big challenge but I know the boys are all looking forward to playing at home on Old Boys Day in what will be the last game for the year,” explained Lowrie.
“Even at this age in their short time at the Club, the boys understand the history of Old Boys Day and what it means to play in the last game at McDonald Jones Stadium."
