Knights legend Andrew Johns has delivered a stinging critique of his old side, labelling Newcastle’s 43-12 thrashing on Friday night at the hands of the Eels as “hard to watch”.
After narrow defeats against the Panthers and Cowboys in back-to-back weeks, the Knights were blown off the park by the Eels, trailing 30-6 at half time.
Johns, who works as a specialist coaching consultant for the Knights, believed Newcastle were lucky not to lose by more.
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“There were 65 missed tackles (by the Knights), Parramatta made 13 clean breaks,” Johns said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“Parramatta should have scored another five tries, they bombed certain tries so the score could have been 70-80.
“They are off the pace, so far off the pace it’s not funny.
“It was hard to watch. They showed zero fight.”
Despite their 14th position on the ladder, the Knights have mostly shown a bit of resolve this season, something Johns and co-panellist Billy Slater pointed to.
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“They’ve really competed hard this year, but they were disappointing on Friday. Some of the missed tackles,” Johns said.
“Parramatta took advantage of the lack of desire in Newcastle’s defensive line… They tore them to shreds on both sides,” Slater added.
Maroons coach Slater has a big decision to make regarding Ponga and whether he picks the incumbent fullback for Queensland for Game I.
In his second game back after missing the past five games with concussion, Ponga missed a number of tackles and failed to threaten in attack.
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Slater defended Ponga’s recent form.
“He’s played three games in 10 months. That’s not easy to do,” Slater said.
“The time that he’s had out since Round 2, he hasn’t done a lot of running, he hasn’t had a lot of training and our game is a game you need timing and getting your reps in.
“He needs to play a bit more footy and when your team is off the pace, it doesn’t help.
