Knights must bounce back quickly against Brisbane after eighth straight loss to Melbourne Storm

But their response to it this week will tell us plenty about the character of this side.

With just four full days to dust themselves off and get up for Thursday night's showdown against a desperate Brisbane Broncos, there is precious little time to dwell on what went wrong against the Storm.

Those among us with one red eye and one blue will no doubt be pointing the finger heavily at the match officials, whose non-policing of the ruck and the 10 metres was at odds with how previous games have been refereed.

At the very least, the Knights didn't get any favours in the final 15 minutes after fighting hard to get back to within striking distance at 18-12. They had possession for just two of the final 10 sets of the game and two dubious penalties in the closing minutes didn't help the blood pressure.

But in reality, the game was lost by the Knights in the first half when they allowed the Storm to dictate terms. Their early intensity had been a feature of their previous wins. But for reasons unbeknown to anyone, they were on their heels from the outset and a surging Melbourne didn't need an invitation to exploit it.

Toohey's News: Listen to Barry Toohey's new podcast in your Podcast app

It allowed Cameron Smith to almost do as he pleased out of dummy half in the first 40 minutes as they built up an 18-0 lead that would prove too big an ask to claw back.

Veteran hooker Andrew McCullough has been around a long time but could only offer a rye smile afterwards when asked why the Knights had started the game so passively in defence when they knew what was going to be coming at them.

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd probably be a coach,"McCullough said.

On the front foot, the Storm's plan to work over Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce also worked a treat. Pearce's energy was sapped by having to come up with 31 tackles for the game and most of the night, found himself kicking on the last from well inside his own half.

Knights coach Adam O'Brien will take plenty of heart from his side's fightback and had they taken a couple of other second half chances, it could have been a different result.

But how they respond to their first loss when they meet Brisbane is what is important now. A second straight defeat would leave everyone just a little on edge.

O'Brien has some decisions to make around the make-up of his side. Lachlan Fitzgibbon will return, presumably for Aidan Guerra on the left edge. Right edge backrower Sione Mata'utia made 53 tackles against the Storm without a miss but has looked banged up and worse for wear over the past couple of weeks. Does he punish Herman Ese'ese, who has been strong with the footy, for his lack of desperation in the first half without it?

And with the likes of Tautau Moga, Gehamat Shibasaki, Pasami Saulo, Josh King and Phoenix Crossland waiting in the wings, is now the right time to look at some rotation of players?

We'll know soon enough.