Interview: Lachlan Fitzgibbon on trial performance
nib Newcastle Knights forward Lachlan Fitzgibbon proved to be handy in attack last year with eight tries to his name, and continued his good fortunes with another four-pointer in the Club’s trial match against the Melbourne Storm on Wednesday afternoon.
In the 12th minute the 24-year-old was gifted with a perfect pass from new teammate Mitchell Pearce for the Knights' first of the match.
“It's one of the set plays we’ve been working on over the last few months,” explained Fitzgibbon.
“We finally got to put it into practice against opposition and we got some joy out of it, so hopefully there’s more to come.”
After three months of being on the training track together, Fitzgibbon admits they’ve been able to gel together nicely.
“It was always going to be a challenge against the Storm, they’re a good defensive side, but it went well,” Fitzgibbon added.
“It was a team effort across all four quarters and all the boys ripped in.
“Playing the Storm, they’re the pinnacle of the competition, so to come away with the win in the end was a big morale booster.”
In scorching temperatures the mobile forward spent a bit more time on the field than most, and it saw him get the benefit of combining with a variety of teammates.
“The first two quarters I was combining with junior (Mitchell Pearce) and Kalyn (Ponga) and I haven’t played with them before,” he said.
“In the fourth quarter I got to play off the back of Lamby (Brock Lamb) which I’ve done on previous occasions, so it was good to have that mix.”
Next up Fitzgibbon will be pushing to feature in the Maitland trial against the Parramatta Eels, which is expected to pull massive crowds.
“It will definitely be a big trial,” said Fitzgibbon.
“Parramatta always field a strong side and it’ll be interesting to see how we go.
“They had a big year last year and they’ve got some good players and a number of good signings as well.
“I want to keep on improving over the next few weeks, so I’ve got a lot of work before the trial and Round 1, and if a do get an opportunity, hopefully I put in a good performance.”
