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News.com.au
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘I'm a bit hurt': Knights coach slams his own fans over boos
Knights coach Adam O'Brien has slammed the club's supporters who booed his side at halftime against the Sea Eagles on Thursday night. Newcastle were terrible in the opening 40 minutes to trail 16-0 at the break and as they walked off McDonald Jones Stadium the boos rang out. But they returned a different side in the second half to score four tries and send the game to golden point before Kalyn Ponga crossed for the winner in the 83rd minute. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer > O'Brien was animated throughout the game in the coach's box and he was still fired up at his post-match press conference, where the first question was about the boos. 'It's disappointing, truly disappointing,' O'Brien said. 'I know the scoreline is not what they want but to boo the effort that went into that first half from a really young team, the people that booed don't know anything about rugby league. They were probably the ones that cheered at the end too. 'It disappoints me that they'd do that because I thought the first half we defended our hearts out. You've got to remember there's a really, really young footy team in there against a very good opposition. 'I thought we were excellent in the first half. We made a few errors leading into halftime which gassed us a little bit which led to the last try. I thought we could have been going into the sheds at 12-0 down, but tremendous effort in the second half. 'With the booing, I know people are disappointed with us but they're trying their backsides off, we don't have a front-rower available and to lose Friz straight away, booing is a bit harsh. 'That's up there with one of the best wins I've been involved in here. To have those kids out there, I know there's only the one debutant tonight but there were a heap of guys with less than five or six games. 'I'm a bit hurt by the booing, we don't want to let people down but I didn't think I'd see that. I've seen bigger losses here over the years and I'm not sure they were booed, but anyway. 'I reckon this is the hardest time that I've been involved in at the club in terms of injuries and suspensions, like, it's hard. But how we react and respond will see us through.' Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga also said it was one of the best wins of his career in Newcastle. 'If you take everything into consideration, young squad, debutant, fair bit of fight in that second half, fair bit of belief and trust in our processes,' he said. 'We tweaked a couple of things after halftime that obviously worked. 'It's been a tough season… so it's nice. There's been some tough lessons this year but it's good for the young guys to feel this feeling, footy is fun and joyful at times. I see how hard they worked, so now we just have to keep working hard.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Booed off at halftime, Knights claim shock win
Newcastle have gone from booed off at halftime to pulling off their biggest comeback victory in 18 years, after claiming a 26-22 golden-point win over Manly. Booed by their own fans after their seventh scoreless first half of the season, the Knights came back to life after falling 16-0 down at McDonald Jones Stadium. Dane Gagai turned back the clock, Fletcher Sharpe and Kai Pearce Paul were immense and Kalyn Ponga claimed the match-winner early in extra time. Ponga with the match-winner! 🔥#NRLKnightsManly — NRL (@NRL) June 5, 2025 The hosts' revival came despite Newcastle having the worst attack in the competition, and showing no signs of turning that around in the opening 40 minutes. Knights great Andrew Johns labelled it "hard to watch" in the Nine Network's commentary, as Newcastle coughed up error after error and looked out of the contest. But the match swung dramatically early in the second half, as the Knights began to shift the ball more and caught Manly out on their makeshift edges. With Lehi Hopoate concussed early and Tommy Talau also spending time off for a HIA, Newcastle got at a Sea Eagles side that had second-rowers Ben Trbojevic and Corey Waddell in the centres. The home side went from 16-0 down to 16-16 in the space of 18 second-half minutes, with two of the tries coming from long distance and another a Jack Cogger bomb. Manly appeared to have control of the game back when Clayton Faulalo burst through the middle of the field and fellow winger Tommy Talau crossed next play. But Newcastle levelled the scores with five minutes to play when Pearce Paul found space on the right edge and Sharpe had his second. Sharpe gets a double to draw the game! 👊 #NRLKnightsManly — NRL (@NRL) June 5, 2025 Ponga then had the match winner in the Knights' first set of golden point when he put up a bomb, Fletcher Hunt batted it back and the Knights No.1 followed the play to score. The win will at least alleviate pressure on under-fire coach Adam O'Brien, after his side had dropped eight of their past 10 games. Manly had earlier looked like they were going to cruise home in the first half, with their forwards dominating and makeshift fullback Tolu Koula causing havoc. Haumole Olakau'atu was again powerful in the first half, brushing off three defenders to score one try on the play after Koula had beaten five. Toff Sipley also scored through the middle after Koula had Manly's first, with Newcastle's forward pack weakened by a concussion to Tyson Frizell. But after the second-half collapse, the Sea Eagles' halves missed a chance to win the match in the final minute of regulation time. With Daly Cherry-Evans set up for the field-goal shot, Newcastle's kick pressure prompted him to pass off to Luke Brooks who sent his effort wide from 40 metres out. A Cherry-Evans field goal would have been something of a statement, with questions still surrounding his spot in Queensland's team for State of Origin II. But instead it was kick pressure from Ponga on Brooks that proved the difference, before the Knights star's winning play.
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Not in a good place': Ponga's blunt Origin response as O'Brien admits ‘we're in a funk'
Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga has admitted he's 'definitely not happy' with how his team are travelling, when asked whether Newcastle's poor form could cost him at the Queensland selection table. The Knights suffered a 28-6 loss to Parramatta at McDonald Jones Stadium, which was their fourth straight defeat at home. Newcastle's attacking woes continued - they didn't trouble the scorers until the 74th minute when winger James Schiller went over. When asked whether the Knights' woeful form could count against him when it came to Maroons selection, Ponga was blunt about how his team are travelling. 'I'm definitely not happy with the way we're going here,' Ponga admitted in the post-game press conference, which you can watch in the video above. But he made it clear that he wanted to be picked, and his chances of earning Queensland selection are improved given that Broncos flyer Reece Walsh is sidelined with a knee injury. 'I want to be there obviously. It's a prestigious jersey. It's an honour to wear (the Queensland) jersey,' Ponga added. 'I would love to be in that arena again.' Knights coach Adam O'Brien was blunt in his assessment of his team's performance. 'Clearly disappointed with the result,' O'Brien said. 'We understand that (we're) not in a good place. 'We're in a bit of a funk, for lack of a better term.' Ponga conceded the Knights were learning the hard way. 'People are learning some harsh lessons, that's for sure,' Ponga said.
