OMEN
03-11-2006, 02:38 PM
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Slipstream ... try scorer Thaiday offloads.
HAVING buried his feud with Parramatta coach Brian Smith, Newcastle skipper Andrew Johns went about impressing his future boss with a commanding performance in the Knights' 25-6 win over the Eels at EnergyAustralia Stadium tonight.
Matching up against promising halfback Tim Smith, Johns dominated his rival No.7, kicking a field goal and having a hand in four of his side's five tries.
The focus leading into the match was on coaches Michael Hagan and Brian Smith following the Parramatta mentor's decision to fill the vacant role at Newcastle from next year.
The move effectively meant a coaching swap between the teams after Hagan had earlier agreed to a three-year deal with the Eels from next season.
Smith, who described the situation as "weird", said he would welcome a less eventful build-up to next week's game against New Zealand Warriors.
"It won't hurt. I wouldn't like to have a week like that every week," Smith said.
"The players wouldn't use any of that as a distraction this week, they wouldn't use that as any sort of reason (for the loss).
"It's been somewhat of a distraction for me, but I handled most of it on my day off.
Likewise, Hagan said the coach swap didn't faze the players.
"The situation for me has been resolved for a long while and everyone knows what's going on," he said.
"Whatever has been said needs to be left at that and we can get on with the rest of the year and just work with the players and enjoy it as much as I can and see what we can sort out.
"I don't think we need to go there, we'll just get on with it."
Great Britain international Brian Carney made a superb start to his NRL career, scoring a try and earning man of the match honours in his debut appearance.
The home side capitalised on some good fortune early, with fullback Milton Thaiday scoring in just the second minute off a clever ball from Johns.
Moments earlier the Knights appeared to get away with a knock-on which was missed by referee Russell Smith.
Knights fans got an early scare when Johns went down after being smashed in a Luke Burt tackle in the 10th minute.
But the halfback was merely winded and soon returned to his feet.
After dominating field position in the middle stages of the first half, Parramatta hit back and took a 6-4 lead after Michael Vella crashed over from close range.
It was the first and last time the Eels were in front, however, with Carney scoring in his debut for the Knights to give his side an 8-6 lead at the break.
The Knights extended their advantage to eight points five minutes into the second half when Riley Brown finished off some clever lead-up work from Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus, before tries to Matt Gidley (53rd minute) and Adam Woolnough (72nd) sealed the match.
Johns, who didn't want to discuss the coaching matter after the game, praised the performances of his teammates.
"We played, I suppose, a bit boring in attack, but we still scored 25 points," he said.
"It's a good start."
Earlier, serial pest Peter Hoare held up the kick-off after riding a tricycle onto the middle of the ground.
It took several minutes for security to staff to apprehend Hoare, who rode out wearing a Ned Kelly-style helmet and cradling a black cat.
NEWCASTLE 25 (M Thaiday B Carney R Brown M Gidley A Woolnough tries, A Johns 2 goals, A Johns field goal)
PARRAMATTA 6 (M Vella try L Burt goal)
Referee: R Smith
Crowd: 26,198 at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
AAP
Slipstream ... try scorer Thaiday offloads.
HAVING buried his feud with Parramatta coach Brian Smith, Newcastle skipper Andrew Johns went about impressing his future boss with a commanding performance in the Knights' 25-6 win over the Eels at EnergyAustralia Stadium tonight.
Matching up against promising halfback Tim Smith, Johns dominated his rival No.7, kicking a field goal and having a hand in four of his side's five tries.
The focus leading into the match was on coaches Michael Hagan and Brian Smith following the Parramatta mentor's decision to fill the vacant role at Newcastle from next year.
The move effectively meant a coaching swap between the teams after Hagan had earlier agreed to a three-year deal with the Eels from next season.
Smith, who described the situation as "weird", said he would welcome a less eventful build-up to next week's game against New Zealand Warriors.
"It won't hurt. I wouldn't like to have a week like that every week," Smith said.
"The players wouldn't use any of that as a distraction this week, they wouldn't use that as any sort of reason (for the loss).
"It's been somewhat of a distraction for me, but I handled most of it on my day off.
Likewise, Hagan said the coach swap didn't faze the players.
"The situation for me has been resolved for a long while and everyone knows what's going on," he said.
"Whatever has been said needs to be left at that and we can get on with the rest of the year and just work with the players and enjoy it as much as I can and see what we can sort out.
"I don't think we need to go there, we'll just get on with it."
Great Britain international Brian Carney made a superb start to his NRL career, scoring a try and earning man of the match honours in his debut appearance.
The home side capitalised on some good fortune early, with fullback Milton Thaiday scoring in just the second minute off a clever ball from Johns.
Moments earlier the Knights appeared to get away with a knock-on which was missed by referee Russell Smith.
Knights fans got an early scare when Johns went down after being smashed in a Luke Burt tackle in the 10th minute.
But the halfback was merely winded and soon returned to his feet.
After dominating field position in the middle stages of the first half, Parramatta hit back and took a 6-4 lead after Michael Vella crashed over from close range.
It was the first and last time the Eels were in front, however, with Carney scoring in his debut for the Knights to give his side an 8-6 lead at the break.
The Knights extended their advantage to eight points five minutes into the second half when Riley Brown finished off some clever lead-up work from Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus, before tries to Matt Gidley (53rd minute) and Adam Woolnough (72nd) sealed the match.
Johns, who didn't want to discuss the coaching matter after the game, praised the performances of his teammates.
"We played, I suppose, a bit boring in attack, but we still scored 25 points," he said.
"It's a good start."
Earlier, serial pest Peter Hoare held up the kick-off after riding a tricycle onto the middle of the ground.
It took several minutes for security to staff to apprehend Hoare, who rode out wearing a Ned Kelly-style helmet and cradling a black cat.
NEWCASTLE 25 (M Thaiday B Carney R Brown M Gidley A Woolnough tries, A Johns 2 goals, A Johns field goal)
PARRAMATTA 6 (M Vella try L Burt goal)
Referee: R Smith
Crowd: 26,198 at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
AAP