After their Friday night loss to the Gold Coast Titans, it’s hard to see how the Newcastle Knights can have any impact on the upcoming Finals series
With plenty to play for and a chance to build momentum, going down 36-6 in the final round of the regular season is something most would think Adam O’Brien would be furious about
But the rookie coach kept his cool tonight – perhaps a good sign for his future in the NRL
Newcastle were appalling in the 30-point loss at Cbus Super Stadium, and while O’Brien was calm after the game, he knows how their inconsistent nature becomes a major concern
« A wake-up call – it’s an alarm that I’ve heard several times not ideal before the final, » he said
« I don’t want to single out any of our squad There were definitely a number of guys who needed a bigger contribution I also don’t take away from the Titans they played a really entertaining brand of footy and threw us a lot
« I just told the group over there that we have to move on very quickly, because this performance and the fact that I keep doing it won’t help us next week. We have to find a way to bounce back on next week – anywhere, in Sydney or at home
« This is a major concern It certainly consumes a lot of my thoughts right now Moving forward is something I need to address, whether it be during the summer But it’s not okay m ‘help next week
« Hopefully we’ll follow the trend, next week we’re on the right track This is a big concern, and my number one goal to correct this consistency
After a strong performance against a poor Dragons outfit last weekend, the Knights were slow to come out of the gates on Friday and never really entered the contest
AJ Brimson and Ash Taylor both scored doubles in fantastic performances, while Jai Arrow ended his career in the Titans colors with a resounding victory
When asked after the game if he saw defeat coming, O’Brien denied that his team had prepared badly
« We only had a very light run due to the five day delay There was no indication before the game, » he said
« The way we started out didn’t help, at one point we had about 33% possession I don’t want to be the guy who just rolls out stats, but we had a count of 5-1 penalty and had no possession
« And then we didn’t look like we were doing anything with the ball when we had it. It was like under 8s there for a bit, leaving »
Another big concern in the aftermath of the loss was the connection of first rower Jacob Saifiti for a crushing tackle
If he were to be charged, he would likely miss next week’s game against South Sydney
« It was always the hassle to bring that (the scoring change) It was really hard, they went out of line and all of a sudden they fall at your feet, » he said.
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« They can’t go away – no one trains to do this stuff, but they can’t go »
Titans vs Knights
World News – UA – Titans vs Knights: Adam O’Brien remains calm despite ‘worrying’ loss
