Fitzgibbon: Forwards need to raise their game

Lachlan Fitzgibbon has called out his fellow forwards for not putting the green halves combination of Brock Lamb and Connor Watson in ideal ball playing positions.

Although Lamb had a tough transition from directing play in the halves last season to taking on a secondary role with the inclusion of Mitchell Pearce earlier this season, Fitzgibbon is confident that his teammate can execute if put in the right position, and argued that he plays his best game as a dominant half.

"I don't think Brock had too bad a game on the weekend (against the Panthers)," he explained.

"He made a line-break, set one up... a bit of organising here and there and he will be better.

"It's easy to blame the halves, but as a forward pack we need to execute better to allow the halves to be in better positions to do something with the ball.

"Hopefully this week we can rectify that and we can play some better footy."

"As a 20-year-old running the side last year he did a pretty reasonable job. This year he had to take a backwards step with Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson coming into the side.

"It has taken him a bit of time to adjust to these changes, but now he has the opportunity to come back and run the show, and I think he is playing his best footy when he is dominant with the ball."

Whilse Fitzgibbon is happy with his own contributions to the team this season, he is continually striving for improvement and admits that the won't accept complacency, as coach Nathan Brown has shown by dropping players to Reserve Grade when he believed they were capable of more.

"Browny is not afraid to crack the whip," Fitzgibbon stated.

"If you are not performing, you can spend a couple of weeks in Reserve Grade, do your time and then if you are playing well be rewarded with first grade."

"It is a credit to the strength we have in our side this year, every position you have to fight for."

Meanwhile, the Knights prepare for their clash against the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium in Round 11.

While the Titans have had a less than ideal start to the season, suffering a high injury toll in the opening rounds, the Knights are prepared for a tough battle on the Gold Coast.

Fitzgibbon admitted that it is never easy going up against a team that is coming off a string off bad losses.

"They have come off five straight losses," he said.

"We have been in that position as a club, and the more losses you have, the hungrier you are for a win. So they will come out firing and we will have to be at our best."