To win in the NRL competition you need momentum and the Newcastle Knights currently don’t have it.
That’s the summation from Knights skipper Kurt Gidley following the Club's comprehensive 32-6 loss against the Brisbane Broncos at Hunter Stadium on Friday night.
Gidley certainly can't fault the effort of his charges, who competed hard against the Broncos, but the skipper concedes his team must discover some consistency to find form in the coming weeks.
"It almost feels like one step forward and two steps back," Gidley said in the post-match press conference.
"But we certainly can’t go around kicking stones and with our heads down.
"We’ve got to work out what we need to do to improve.
"Momentum is a big thing in our game and we haven’t got that at the moment."
While Gidley concedes the Broncos were very strong in defence, he believes the final scoreline wasn't a true indication of the match.
The Knights had a number of chances to score, but couldn't crack the Broncos' defensive wall.
"I was just saying to Wayne I’m in a bit of shock at the moment," he says.
"Even at halftime I didn’t think the scoreline reflected what we’d done in the first half.
"We were held up a few times, we got repeat sets and we were building some pressure early in the game, which is what you want
"I guess they were a lot more desperate in defence, certainly goal line defence.
"We were getting over the line though, so we were putting the right plays on.
"But as I said they were more desperate with the amount of guys they had around the footy."
Knights coach Wayne Bennett was disappointed with the loss, but pleased with the level of application on a tough night.
Bennett has no doubts his team can rebound in the coming weeks as long as they continue to stick together.
"There was a lot of effort that went in from our team," Bennett said.
"We weren’t short of that.
"But I don’t know, at the moment it’s just the way the season has been for us.
"There is lots of effort in a lot of different games, but not a lot of luck.
"As Kurt said we’ve just got to stay at it and hope it will turn.”
For the Knights that starts with a big clash against the in-form Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium next Saturday night.
