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The take-home message for these teams may well be that trial form and results don’t mean anything, but with a final result of 30-6 in favour of the Cronulla Sharks over the Newcastle Knights, that take-home message will mean different things to each team.
Tim Glasby said during the week that he couldn’t remember winning a trial, but felt he has played in some good sides, so he will be hoping that pattern repeats.
While the 30-6 scoreline was indeed meaningless, there were still indicators in the match about where each team is standing at the moment.
For Cronulla, the perfect execution of basics was the key, as they completed sets, made tackles, and picked the right play on the fifth tackle options.
In fact, had Cronulla passed with more fluency, the scoreline would have been even more menacing.
The Sharks would have taken a lot of confidence from two key aspects of their play today, primarily the forward dominance they enjoyed through those premiership stalwarts Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita, and Matt Prior.
The knights were not necessarily outplayed in the forwards, or outclassed, but the sharks were definitely on top by points.
Added to that forward pressure for the sharks was the very pleasing outing by Shaun Johnson, who worked brilliantly at times with Chad Townsend.
Johnson seemed to enjoy having just a bit more time at the No.6 position, and allowed his kicking game to shine for the Cronulla side.
As for Newcastle, the real question is why they continue to repeat the same mistakes, despite the turnover in personnel.
That the Newcastle team came out of the contest without injury, and some more match fitness under their belt, will please Nathan Brown.
What will not please him however will be the continued ill-discipline that has underlined the Newcastle Knights in the NRL for so long.
Dropped ball, and so many penalties at crucial times, highlighted by two penalties in the play the ball whilst in possession.
As described last week in Wollongong, such little moments outlined by mistakes may be the difference for the Knights between playing finals, and beginning their offseason in August.
The clear highlight for Newcastle though was the firm and solid performance by Connor Watson at fullback.
His play in defence, particularly his reading of the Sharks kicking game, was superb, and two games into the fullback role in first grade, he is making that position his own.
Again, Kalyn Ponga stood out in the halves, so much so that his cut out pass for the Starford Toa try took Knights fans back to the Johns’ era.
Alas, much like the Johns’ era, it was again a case of too much being asked of one player.
What will ease the pressure on Ponga though is the steady and sturdy showing by Mitchell Pearce, who used his quick wits to tap and go and gain 20m off a dart late in the second half. Those are the types of smart plays that Newcastle have craved for so long.
These two teams will meet again in two weeks, where the competition points will be on the line, and you would think better showings from both sides will emerge.
However, as the matter currently stands, it is Newcastle who have the most improvement required, to match their Cronulla opponent.
And come 15 March, in front of a packed house in Newcastle, the Knights will want a much, much better showing than today’s performance.
Final score
Newcastle Knights 6
Cronulla Sharks 30
The second trial match in 2019 for the Newcastle Knights sees the Novocastrians playing host to Cronulla Sharks at No. 1 Sportsground, Maitland. Join The Roar from 5:30pm (AEDT) for live scores and blog of the game.
As the expectation heavy Newcastle Knights start ramping up their preseason for the season opener in two weeks, this evening they make the somewhat surprising move of playing a trial against the team they will play for competition points in that opening game.
What will have Knights fans salivating last weekend was the sight of Pearce, to Ponga, to Fitzgibbon, as the Knights showed their attacking flair on that left edge.
With a near full strength starting line-up and 17-man roster, the Knights should be eager to build on the strong showing in that first half from last weekend, and reinforce for the side that ingredient that has been missing for that last few years: defence.
The Knights still had the second worst defence in the league last year, and yes, it is “just” preseason, but Nathan Brown may still be concerned that whenever the Dragons ventured into Newcastle tryline territory, the Knights defence looked shaky keeping them out.
Another point of interest for Brown will also be the deployment of Sione Mata’utia, who spent the majority of the offseason getting ready for a stint in the backrow, but finds himself lining up in the centres today.
The flow on effect of Mata’utia being in the centres sees Mitch Barnett starting in the backrow, and Aidan Guerra on the bench, which suggests that Barnett, at this stage, might be ahead of the former Roosters premiership player in Brown’s pecking order.
As for the Sharks, given that this week marked a fairly significant salary cap breach penalty for the 2016 premier, they should in fact be surprisingly upbeat.
Yes, they copped a fine, and sponsorship still remains something of a work in progress, but of all the penalties they could have received, the knowledge that they can hold onto Shaun Johnson would have given the club a significant boost.
Regardless of whatever has happened over the last six months for Cronulla, the bottom line is that they have a strong quality, in fact premiership quality, line up.
Any side that carries the likes of Johnson, Matt Moylan, Josh Dugan, Josh Morris, Andrew Fifita and Paul Gallen is going to be competitive at the bare minimum.
For new coach John Morris, he should know what his side can deliver, so he will want one thing, and one thing only to emerge out of this match, and that is no injuries.
Given that these two sides meet in round one, you would expect that neither side will play too many of the aces up their sleeves.
Instead, look for individuals to meet their key performance indicators: tackles made, metres gained, errors limited, to lock in their starting position at McDonald Jones Stadium on 15 March.
Prediction
While avoiding injuries would be key, given that neither side wants to reveal too many surprises now, you would anticipate that this will be a cagey affair. So instead of having to man up in defence, it is unlikely that either side will be overly flashy in attack.
12-all draw.
Catch all the action on The Roar live coverage from 5:30pm (AEDT), and don’t forget to leave your comment in the comments section below.
Where: No 1 Sportsground, Maitland
When: Saturday 2nd March 2019, 5:30pm (AEDT)
TV: Live streaming on the NRL website and app
Newcastle
1. Connor Watson, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Sione Mata’utia, 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6. Kalyn Ponga, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Danny Levi, 10. James Gavet, 11. Mitchell Barnett, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13. Tim Glasby. Interchange: 16. Herman Ese’ese, 15. Aidan Guerra, 17. Daniel Saifiti, 14. Kurt Mann, 18. Hymel Hunt.
Cronulla
1. Matt Moylan, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Josh Dugan, 4. Josh Morris, 5. Sosaia Feki, 6. Shaun Johnson, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Andrew Fifita, 9. Jayden Brailey, 10. Matt Prior, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Paul Gallen. Interchange: 14. Jayson Bukuya, 15. Jack Williams, 16. Aaron Woods, 17. Scott Sorensen, 18. Bronson Xerri, 19. Kyle Flanagan, 20. Billy Magoulias, 21. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 22. Will Kennedy
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