Newcastle Knights coach Adam O’Brien insists he was “always confident” his group would discover their toes as they enter the finals because the NRL’s hottest group.
The Knights made it a staggering 9 wins on the trot due to a snug 32-12 victory over the St George Illawarra Dragons.
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The win additionally secured fifth spot on the ladder for the Knights and assured them a house remaining.
It is a state of affairs only a few would have seen coming, particularly for the reason that Knights had been as little as 14th on the ladder with 9 video games remaining.
However, O’Brien was a agency believer in his aspect even when the partitions had been closing in on him.
“I’m gonna sound stupid here, but I had belief in the playing group,” O’Brien mentioned in his post-match press convention.
“I think I’ve stated a few times, even the games when we weren’t winning, we were playing well.
“We’ve had one game where we didn’t play well this year and the narrative has been that we’ve been ordinary.
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“But the reality is we’ve lost a number of games by two points where we showed a heap of DNA, a heap of fight and spirit. So I was always confident that we could turn it.
“I obviously didn’t think about fifth spot and home semi and all of that. I just knew we had a good team that are capable of putting it against the better teams.”
The nine-game win streak is a exceptional feat particularly for star ahead Jacob Saifiti.
After all, the 27-year-old was a member of the 2016 aspect that misplaced a staggering 18 video games in a row to complete lifeless final.
But having had an opportunity to style the ecstasy of a successful streak somewhat than the agony of a dropping streak, Saifiti conceded “it’s a bit surreal.”
“There’s been some tough years there, but a few of us have stuck strong and come out the other side,” Saifiti mentioned.
“We’ve still got a job to do again on Saturday, but I’m excited to have a home semi. It’s my first one, so I’m really excited.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
