Nathan Brown isn’t pulling any punches.
He wants honestly and accountability from his men.
The nib Newcastle Knights have put a hurtful 28-26 loss at home to the Wests Tigers behind them, as they aim to reignite their 2019 season with six crucial games remaining.
After leading 12-0 midway through the opening half, the Knights eventually went down to an inspired Tigers outfit playing in veteran Robbie Farah's 300th game, leaking five tries including three in the space of 17 minutes before half-time.
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Monday's training session served as an opportunity to engage in an honest video review of last Friday's performance and according to Knights second rower, Mitch Barnett, the playing group is hurting.
"We started so well and to let a lead like that go was disappointing," Barnett said.
“Some of their tries were pretty soft, and it wasn't good enough, we need to be better this week and for the rest of the season
"We had a review, and he (Nathan Brown) was really honest with everyone and it wasn't up to our standards."
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The Knights have conceded 166 points in their last six outings, averaging almost 28 points a game, compared to their imposing six-game winning streak earlier in the season as they only leaked on average, 13 points a game.
The stark difference in points conceded is the critical factor to the recent defeats, as the Tigers loss was the Knights’ fourth on the bounce.
Ninth position is now where the side sits and with a huge clash against arch-rivals, Manly this weekend, Barnett said the squad knows where they needs to improve.
"It is wanting to defend for the 80 minutes, it's as a collective, our attitude towards that has to be a lot better, and you know, if it’s not, we're not going to win any games, we need to fix it as of now and I'm confident the boys that run out this weekend will do it," Barnett continued.
"We've let it go (the top eight spot), and it just depends how bad we want to play finals footy and brick by brick we've got to build back what we had, and it starts with our defence."
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It won't get any easier for the Knights, playing away to the in-form Sea Eagles.
Last weekend they knocked over ladder-leaders Melbourne 11-10 in golden point, with a Daly Cherry-Evans field goal being the match-winner.
The Knights are only a point away from the eight and will want to re-discover their winning mentality and form from the earlier part of the season to try and come away from Lottoland with the two points.
"We've got a tight-knit bunch of boys here," Barnett said.
“We're all still sticking solid together, and at the end of the day, we're the only ones who can get ourselves out of it, and we're very confident we can do that this weekend.”
