Tony Butterfield gives his two cents on who should coach the Newcastle Knights

Soda water and a dash of lime, legs up on the chaise, your columnist had no doubt the Knights would emerge victorious against a Tigers outfit leaking injuries and confidence, to keep their dream alive. Managing the threats, experience told me only the "Benji factor" could possibly spoil the air of inevitably. And then the whistle went.

It wasn't all bad. Debutant Bradman Best looked likely and if he feels he can nail the role I'd move him in one, straight away. Danny Levi missed a few tackles but was our most effective in the line, while Shaun Kenny-Dowall aced most challenges.

Under-worked Mitch Barnett and David Klemmer, as is their wont, barrelled forward while Mason Lino provided spark and zip. None of the above is any great scoop. We fans saw what happened. So what went so wrong? Why were they lapped with a semi-final berth in sight?

Leaving the edge defence to one side for a moment, lack of ball and attacking field position took its toll, as did the restart error, followed by the try that was every day of the week an obstruction penalty. Then came the intercept lead-up to another four-pointer - and the players hadn't even warmed up. Worryingly, it drained energy and threatened dangerously fragile pools of player resolve.

That it was Kalyn Ponga involved in each event gives fans and critics some idea of where the 21-year-old's head might have been, for the duration. Given the high-performance nature of the workplace and the extraordinary pressures involved, maybe the latter might cut the young bloke some slack. It naturally takes years of experience and training to successfully "park" failure at will, no matter how much the media might build one up as a future champion.

Going forward for Ponga, confronting and overcoming mental-control fragilities is part of the job and always a work in progress. That said, his teammates didn't necessarily go to the young No.1's rescue in that department, presenting a paucity of defensive teamwork and resolve that crumbled under pressure.

Meanwhile, back from my "mental-toughness" digression, it's enough to say, the Knights' edge defence was woeful on the night, leaking like a sieve.

Quality opposition it may have been, but disjointed with scant regard for communication, spacing or direction, the Knights' edge squads independently moved up, sideways or in retreat, disconnecting time and again, invariably coming up with grass and fresh air.

If I didn't know better it could quite reasonably be said these are not signs of a mature, well-drilled or tactically aware group of individuals.

The other relevant "why?" may be in dispute, but the off-field dramas had a role to play. Call it a hunch. Some say professionals are trained to ignore the ill-timed noise and get busy earning a living. Others still think it's too simplistic to point to disruptions off the field as the culprit. I'd counter that such distractions are never conducive for some to achieve their tip-top frame of mind. And that's what we saw.

We might also remember in analysis that every player is different with varying levels of tolerance and poise. In the NRL, it only takes a few things to go pear-shaped before pressure finds the cracks. If they're there.

So, the "what happened", we saw. The "why it happened" is always open to debate. But it's the "how do we fix it" that really matters.

The Knights are again at an important crossroad. The performance on the field, as important as it is on Old Boys' day tomorrow, pales against the appointment of the right "new coach" and his support team.

And they need a plan.

Relying on a wholesale cleanout (again) is no answer, although after the outrageous expulsion ofJesse Ramien, strikepower is needed to support Ponga, Mitch Pearce, Connor Watson and Edrick Lee. Not easy. Lamentably, going back to Jesse to consider a return is not an option now after recent attempts failed badly. He's been burned. Jeez.

So, using my favorite coaches as models - Graham Murray, Allan McMahon and Malcolm Reilly - for this columnist, the new coach:

* will need strong support and leadership from the top;

* will be competitive in nature and possess and exhibit traits of successful team cultures, holding defence disciplines central;

* must accept responsibility and refrain from veiled blaming of players;

* will recruit assistant coaches and staff that know their specialty back-to-front and speak their mind. Who will deliver in a way that players listen, learn and act.

* will encourage stability of tenure for key support team and players. It's hard to build a family when you're kicking people out all the time. Take your time and get it right.

* will embrace junior development. Traditionally and commercially a "non-negotiable" with the Knights, it underpinned close to 15 seasons of success, before inept management allowed a couple of coaches to neglect this strategic advantage. Never again.

Which is to say, the above will evolve over the coming weeks and months.

Not so for our players, having been through the spin-cycle once too often in recent weeks, theirs is now the challenge of the season, on Saturday. They must quickly reconstitute a belief that they're a team not to be discounted and go from there.

Relying only on their collective will, in front of club royalty, they will stand up, be counted and get the job done. Go the Knights, by two.

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