Press conference: Chris Heighington on Round 11
Often seen as a father figure to junior players at the Club, veteran Knight Chris Heighington has called out a lacklustre effort in the clash against the Penrith Panthers in Round 10.
Heighington recognised that a high penalty count stemmed from a lack of concentration, particularly in players ensuring they were onside in defence.
"We had a review this morning and that did come up," stated Heighington.
"It is a big issue for us at the moment, silly penalties for things like being offside by ten centimetres, and then the opposition kicks it up the field and is attacking your line.
"It is important to get those little things right... these things can be changed within a week and hopefully we do that before we go up to the Gold Coast to play the Titans."
However, the 36-year-old lock reassured that having a younger side is not the root cause of a high penalty count, as teams with experienced rosters such as the Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm, Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders have the highest negative play statistics in the competition this year.
nib Inspiring Moment: Round 10
"You look at the teams across the NRL that give away the most penalties, and they have rosters with the most experience.
"It's just making those few extra centimetres to get back onside, because the referees have cracked down on that and it is an area we have been penalised a lot for."
Meanwhile, a frustrated Nathan Brown put those players whose efforts were below the Club's standards under the spotlight in his post-game press conference last week.
Heighington backed Brown's comments, and stated that a subpar performance from a talented squad justifies a frustrated response from the head coach.
"He is (frustrated) and ought to be. Browny knows that he has a really talented squad that hasn't been playing to the best of their ability, and that would obviously frustrate you as a coach."
