Young second-rower Joe Tapine is expecting a tough game against the Wyong Roos in the NSW Cup Grand Final on Sunday afternoon.
The Central Coast club finished the home and away season in second place, sitting on the same amount of wins as the Mounties but missing out on the minor premiership by one point in the for and against column.
While Tapine played 13 NRL games this season, he also came across the Roos twice in the NSW Cup campaign, the Knights losing by two points in Round 18 and by 12 points in Round 2.
They are a powerful and uncompromising side that focuses on completing sets through the middle, while the Knights have a little more unpredicability about them with some of the most spontaenous and dangerous backs in the competition.
"They're definitely a solid team, they're well-balanced in the backs and forwards," Tapine told Knights TV.
"Their forwards bring a lot of physicality to the game and we've just go to stick to what we've been doing for the last couple of weeks in our defence."
While the Knights conceded 26 points against a hard-hitting Mounties side last week, over the fortnight before that game the red and blues only conceded an average of nine points per game.
If the side are to come away with the ultimate prize they will have to revert to those defensive habits against the Roos or be punished.
"We'll train Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and just lock down those key things we need to work on and hopefully bring them on Sunday," Tapine explained.
In many ways the playing style of the Mounties and the Roos is similar, so the team has had plenty of recent practice against frustrating sides that like to slog it up the middle.
"I think the key was just working through the middle and trying to tire them out," Tapine said of last week.
"The Mounties are a top team and it took longer than we thought, but we kept to our structure throughout the whole game.
"They definitely had energy in their line speed so we just tried to chip away at them and I think it worked well for us."
Gates open at 11.20am with the NSW Cup grand final kicking off at 4.15pm following the Sydney Shield and Ron Massey Cup.
Adult tickets are just $10, with kids under 12 free. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets now.
Sid Fogg's is planning a NSW Cup grand final bus to Pirtek Stadium which will cost $40 return. A minimum of 25 people are required for the trip to go ahead. Call 49281088 to book or for more details.
