Knights bashed at Brookvale
Newcastle Herald
Monday March 28, 2011
THE Newcastle Knights were left to pick up the pieces and lick their wounds after a bruising, brutal 26-12 loss to arch rivals Manly at Brookvale Oval yesterday.Already with four senior players unavailable because of injuries, the Knights were further decimated yesterday when rookie playmaker Beau Henry (broken ankle), Cameron Ciraldo (torn pectoral muscle), Ben Rogers (dislocated shoulder), Shannon McDonnell and Richie Fa'aoso (both concussion) and Zeb Taia (corked calf) joined the list of casualties.At least Henry, Rogers and Ciraldo are certain to miss Sunday's blockbuster clash with premiers St George Illawarra at Ausgrid Stadium, along with Neville Costigan (broken arm), Mark Taufua (finger) and Isaac De Gois (broken thumb).Skipper Kurt Gidley is rated a strong chance of returning from a torn disc in his back that has sidelined him for two games, and veteran Adam MacDougall is likely to be considered for his first game since his father died last month.Knights coach Rick Stone described yesterday's body count as "horrific".At one stage, the Knights had no fit players remaining on the interchange bench and had to replace Ciraldo, who soldiered on bravely in obvious discomfort, with Fa'aoso, who had barely recovered from being knocked senseless attempting a tackle."Ciraldo hurt his pec early in the second half and probably played a good 20-25 minutes for us," Stone said."Richie Fa'aoso was knocked out and went back on for us. Shannon couldn't get back on - he didn't know where he was."It looked more like a MASH unit than a dressing room there at one stage."We couldn't get the doc out because he had too much on his plate."Knights doctor Peter McGeoch said it was too early to say whether Henry and Ciraldo had suffered season-ending injuries until they had scans today.He expected Rogers was facing at least six weeks out.Asked who would play five-eighth in the absence of Henry and Rogers, Stone replied: "We need to find one. We've got a position vacant sign in the halves next week, but I'm sure we'll find one somewhere."The likely candidate is Gidley, providing McDonnell is not stood down as a precaution.Acting skipper Jarrod Mullen said it was a cruel blow for 21-year-old Henry, who had been outstanding in his first three NRL games since joining the Knights from the Dragons."But I'm sure the boys will band around him and really help him through his rehab," Mullen said."He's a real good kid on the way up, and hopefully he can come back as soon as possible for us because he's been great for us so far."Henry's right leg fractured in a freak incident in the 42nd minute, when he leapt to charge down a Daly Cherry-Evans clearing kick and landed awkwardly.He immediately collapsed to the turf in agony and was carried from the field on a stretcher.Stone acknowledged injuries had cruelled his team but said basic errors and penalties had contributed to their defeat."We finished strong considering we didn't have any replacements, but we shot ourselves in the foot a number of times with, I think, four play-one errors and three play-two errors and a couple of penalties," Stone said."Even when you've got 17 fit players, you find it hard to win games if you come up with those sort of mistakes consistently . . . but there was a period at the back end, particularly the last 10 to 15 minutes, when I was really proud of our effort and how we continued to fight back."Manly coach Des Hasler said, in the circumstances, he was slightly disappointed his team did not run in more tries after leading 20-6 early in the second half.But he added that Newcastle had been undefeated in their first two games and "we'll take the two points".Newcastle started strongly and drew first blood in the ninth minute when Kiwi back-rower Zeb Taia burst onto an inside ball from Henry and crashed through a high tackle from Manly fullback Brett Stewart to score.Despite suggestions Taia lost the ball, video referee Paul Simpkins awarded a "benefit of the doubt" try, which was converted by Wes Naiqama.The Sea Eagles responded with a try by winger David Williams from a Glenn Stewart grubber kick, reducing the deficit to 6-4.By half-time, Manly had assumed the ascendancy through tries by winger Michael Robertson and centre Will Hopoate to lead 16-6.Hopoate's second try, three minutes after the break, gave the home side a 20-6 advantage that appeared unassailable.In the ensuing 10 minutes, Newcastle imploded in a bizarre procession of injuries, errors and penalties.Out on their feet, the Knights appeared likely to play the role of cannon fodder for the rest of the match but bravely battled on as the casualties mounted.Taia's second try, in the 72nd minute, was reward for their resilience, then Williams underlined an emphatic win with his second try three minutes from full-time."It looked more like a MASH unit than a dressing room." - RICK STONE
© 2011 Newcastle Herald
