2007 Round 22 vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles:
Manly Warringah 50 defeated Newcastle 16.
Newcastle again went down heavily as they encountered a rampant Manly outfit on Friday night of Round 22. The season is not ending well for the Knights, but in a match in which both teams donned their 1997 uniforms to honour the great grand final of that year, the red and blues did at least try for the full 80 minutes. However the horrific injury toll made it difficult for them to compete with the Sea Eagles.
A media blow-up during the week would also have proved a difficult distraction for the side, and it was Manly who not surprisingly opened the scoring. Brett Stewart crossed from an inside ball close to the line in the 6th minute, but Newcastle held solid for the next 20 minutes, but then a flood of points sealed the match before halftime.
Brett Stewart crossed out wide in the 24th minute, then Jack Afamasaga scored a long range try and Jamie Lyon did the same after a big Chris Hicks break.
Steve Menzies regathered an attacking kick in the 38th minute to make the deficit 26-0 at halftime.
Manly added four further tries in the second half to reach the dreaded half-century, but Newcastle also scored three of their own. James McManus scored his 10th try of the year in the 60th, Brad Tighe swooped on a loose pass to race away in the 71st and Steve Simpson charged onto a pass to score under the posts and complete the scoring in the 77th minute.
It was a tough night all round for Newcastle, but Newcastle’s 37th player of the year, Scott Dureau, made a highly impressive first grade debut – pointing to a battle royale with Luke Walsh for the halfback spot in first grade in 2008. Chris Bailey also played well in the 6, returning from injury.
What they said:
Brian Smith:
"I'm happy doing my job and quite comfortable doing what I have to do and will continue to do that. The board has asked me to do it and it's going to be done."
"I never like it (ongoing turmoil). It affects my family far more than it affects me. In some ways it's been relentless for a long time from pretty much the same sources."
"I want to win badly and I understand that sometimes you cannot win as often as you would like. I have got to stick to my plan and the club's plan and we are doing that."
"We simply were not good enough to cope with what they put at us. We have nine days to turnaround to the next game and it will be huge for us."
Des Hasler:
"There was that chance of an ambush but the players showed enough maturity. We were mindful of being patient and clinical and getting through that first half in a controlled and clinical way."
"The disappointing part was the 16 points that they posted."