In the sheds: Chris Heighington

It was all smiles from the nib Newcastle Knights camp in Canberra on Sunday night after another nail biting win, this time against the Raiders.

Knights TV spoke to veteran forward Chris Heighington in the sheds after the match, who said he was proud of their effort to grind out the two-point win.

“I'm proud of the boys, I thought we did really well.

“In the second half we lost the penalty count seven to one but every time we got down their end we seemed to get points.

“While we didn’t get down there enough, we were still able to get the win.

“They’re a big team and very experienced, so to come to Canberra and get the win, it builds a lot of confidence moving onto the next round.”

The forward did however admit there needs to be a lot of improvement.

“We can play a lot better that’s for sure... it’s a good thing when you get a win when you’re not playing your best, but it’s definitely something we can build on,” he said.

“There were a few little off loads, probably letting them have too many shots at us on their own line, and you know every team is going to score points against you when you give them four or five sets in a row.

“We found a way to win and that’s sometimes what you’ve got to be able to do.”

Heighington maintained winning can be an attitude and hopefully that’s where they’re headed.

“Winning is a mindset and a habit so we’ve got that here and we're ready to start building the year,” Heighington explained.

“They were a big pack, we gave them a lot of ball but I thought we did alright and handled it very well into the second half."