Kennedy doesn't scare Knights
From www.nrl.com
The sight of a fired-up Ben Kennedy strikes fear into any rugby league rival.
But the only thing that scares Newcastle right now is collecting a maiden NRL wooden spoon.
Rather than worry about locking horns with fiery Manly backrower Kennedy at Brookvale Oval on Sunday, Knights forward Clint Newton today said he had already sent text messages to fire up his former teammate.
Newton was gung-ho about tackling arguably one of the world's best backrowers when win-less Newcastle takes on a Manly side vying for an 11th straight home victory.
However, it was a different story when the dreaded wooden spoon was mentioned.
Newcastle is in line to "win" its first wooden spoon in its 18-year history after 12 straight losses - not that Newton needed to be reminded.
"I certainly don't want to think about getting the wooden spoon, that's for sure," he said.
"I certainly have enough confidence in our players that we can finish the season strong and hopefully not get the dreaded wooden spoon.
"I know being part of the club for a long time as a fan and as a player, it's something I don't want to be a part of and the rest of the players feel the same way."
Newcastle sunk to a new low last Saturday when the Knights suffered a 50-0 home shellacking by Parramatta - equalling the club's worst ever loss.
But Newton said the club - which is still under pressure to find a major naming rights sponsor - was trying to stay positive.
"We are certainly not prepared to call it quits just yet. We've still got 12 games to go - we can salvage something," he said.
"It looks to be a two horse race between us and Souths (for the wooden spoon).
"But we've got plenty of blokes coming back from injury. We haven't had anywhere near our full strength team this year so I certainly think we can cause some problems (for other teams) from the season onwards.
"We can only move forward."
Newton was surprisingly more content talking up his battle with former Knights teammate Kennedy, who has helped lift Manly to third on the NRL ladder since relocating this season.
"I'm happy to play against him on Sunday. I'm sure our paths will cross and it will be nice and fiery I am sure - it will be interesting," he said.
"There's been the odd text message flying around, just to let him know we will be coming to Brookie and trying to test him out.
"It's exciting to play against people of BK's calibre. It's also a test to see where you are at with your football."
Knights assistant coach Craig Miller - deputising for Michael Hagan due to Origin duty - said his side would not look at video of the 50-0 loss to the Eels.
"We'll put that game to bed. We will look at the Roosters and the Dogs (recent close games) - that's more true to our form," he said.
From www.nrl.com
The sight of a fired-up Ben Kennedy strikes fear into any rugby league rival.
But the only thing that scares Newcastle right now is collecting a maiden NRL wooden spoon.
Rather than worry about locking horns with fiery Manly backrower Kennedy at Brookvale Oval on Sunday, Knights forward Clint Newton today said he had already sent text messages to fire up his former teammate.
Newton was gung-ho about tackling arguably one of the world's best backrowers when win-less Newcastle takes on a Manly side vying for an 11th straight home victory.
However, it was a different story when the dreaded wooden spoon was mentioned.
Newcastle is in line to "win" its first wooden spoon in its 18-year history after 12 straight losses - not that Newton needed to be reminded.
"I certainly don't want to think about getting the wooden spoon, that's for sure," he said.
"I certainly have enough confidence in our players that we can finish the season strong and hopefully not get the dreaded wooden spoon.
"I know being part of the club for a long time as a fan and as a player, it's something I don't want to be a part of and the rest of the players feel the same way."
Newcastle sunk to a new low last Saturday when the Knights suffered a 50-0 home shellacking by Parramatta - equalling the club's worst ever loss.
But Newton said the club - which is still under pressure to find a major naming rights sponsor - was trying to stay positive.
"We are certainly not prepared to call it quits just yet. We've still got 12 games to go - we can salvage something," he said.
"It looks to be a two horse race between us and Souths (for the wooden spoon).
"But we've got plenty of blokes coming back from injury. We haven't had anywhere near our full strength team this year so I certainly think we can cause some problems (for other teams) from the season onwards.
"We can only move forward."
Newton was surprisingly more content talking up his battle with former Knights teammate Kennedy, who has helped lift Manly to third on the NRL ladder since relocating this season.
"I'm happy to play against him on Sunday. I'm sure our paths will cross and it will be nice and fiery I am sure - it will be interesting," he said.
"There's been the odd text message flying around, just to let him know we will be coming to Brookie and trying to test him out.
"It's exciting to play against people of BK's calibre. It's also a test to see where you are at with your football."
Knights assistant coach Craig Miller - deputising for Michael Hagan due to Origin duty - said his side would not look at video of the 50-0 loss to the Eels.
"We'll put that game to bed. We will look at the Roosters and the Dogs (recent close games) - that's more true to our form," he said.
