At training this week, we spoke to captain Chris Clarkson who reflected on last weekend’s defeat to Leigh Centurions while highlighting the opportunity the players have to fight back on Friday.
Reviewing what went wrong on Sunday, Clarkson outlined his belief that the Knights went into survival mode early on.
“Very disappointing. I thought we tried to defend on our own, as individuals rather than as a team, and I think that was a case of us going into survival mode after twenty or thirty minutes.
“Leigh were great on the day, they played really well and were on a roll, but we went into that survival mode early on and we should have stuck together better as a seventeen, defended together with more talk.
“I think we were more reactive than proactive to what they were doing rather than anticipating what they were going to do and solving it before things happened.”
That being said, the former Super League Grand Final winner stated that, should the same team play again, the attitude and performance would be a totally different one before looking ahead to the potential changes on Friday night at the LNER.
“I think, if you were to put that team of seventeen blokes out again this week, it would be a totally different performance. I think we would have an absolute crack at Sheffield and it would be a million miles better with a better attitude, as well.
“We have five or six players to come back in and those lads know they are coming into a team that is down. They need to lift that and they will do, but the lads that played that will do so again this week… I’m confident that it will be a totally different performance and that the attitude will change.
“I know they are all looking forward to putting it right.”
Our captain then pointed to the fact that the players share the disappointment of the defeat that is felt by the supporters.
“We are taking it personally. It’s all I’ve been thinking about when I have some time to myself, going back to the game and thinking about how I, as an individual, could have fixed things.
“We let the supporters down and that disappointment isn’t a nice thing and I know that all the boys are gutted. We wouldn’t be where we are in our careers now if we didn’t care about losing. I know that we all care and that feeling inside us will motivate us to make sure it never happens again.”
Acknowledging that those involved in Sunday’s defeat are hurting, Clarkson pointed to the opportunity the squad has over the next few weeks as something to focus on with the team looking to respond.
“You have to look forward to this Friday and look at what can happen in the next few weeks in terms of matches and the Play-Offs. Despite that loss, we’re confirmed in the top six so there is a big opportunity to put those wrongs right.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be difficult but as a team and squad, we care and we will be working to put it right.
“This Friday gives us a chance to start to put things right quickly, in front of our fans as well. We’ll be out on the field on Tuesday and Thursday and the main thing we can change in five days is our attitude and how we look at this game against Sheffield.”
Tickets are available now for Friday’s match, priced at £20 for adults, £15 for concessions and FREE for under-16s. You can purchase yours in advance from yorkcityknights.com/tickets. Tickets will also be available on the day from the Ticket Office Booth within the Main Hub of the LNER Community Stadium.
