Knights' "ugly soft underbelly" exposed again by the Gold Coast Titans

The Knights' embarrassing performance on the Gold Coast on Saturday once again proves this footy side still can't be trusted to always deliver what should be the most basic requirement of any NRL team.

No matter how savage the injury toll - no matter who's in and who's out - at the very least at this level, effort and desire should be non-negotiables. But here we are, five games into a new season and off the back of two straight defeats at home, the Knights' ugly, soft underbelly is exposed once again.

Nothing, it seems, was learned from the side's embarrassing trip to the Gold Coast in the final round last season when a home semifinal was meekly handed to South Sydney thanks to a 36-6 drubbing at the hands of the Titans.

Kalyn Ponga, easily the Knights best in his return, inadvertently set the tone for what was to come on Saturday when he kicked out on the full from the kick-off.

Within the first set, the alarm bells were already ringing in the Knights' coaches box. Defensive attitude is generally measured by the speed of the defensive line and intent in the contact.

READ MORE:

Toohey's News - Mining day and those 'cursed' jerseys here to stay

A fast moving line early is always the first indicator of whether a side has come to play. The Knights were getting off their line from the get-go like they had lead in their boots.

The ease of the Titans first two tries showed heads were elsewhere. The home side ended up scoring eight in total with one of them coming directly from a line break from a kick-off.

But none of their tries illustrated the Knights head-space better than the second of David Fifita's hat-trick.

After being awarded a penalty near the Knights try line, Fifita took a tap and simply stormed over to score with the Knights defence guilty of sitting back on its heels and waiting for him.

All week in the build up to the game, coach Adam O'Brien emphasised to his players the fact the Titans would use the footy and attack the Knights on both edges.

"We knew what was coming and we knew how to stop it. We just chose not to,"O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald after the game.

While they contributed heavily to their own downfall, the Knights were on the receiving end of a really poor video referee call early in the second half after centre Enari Tuala was awarded a try following great lead-up work from Ponga, Mitch Barnett and Brodie Jones.

Had Ponga converted from close range, it would have cut the Titans lead to 26-18 and maybe changed the game's complexion. But inexplicably, the video referee took the try off the Knights after ruling Tuala did not ground the ball despite having no conclusive evidence to over-rule the ref's on-field decision.

Last week, in what was cold comfort after the event for O'Brien, he was told by the referees' boss that Tariq Sims should have been penalised for being off-side on the two occasions he charged down Knights kicks. On the second charge-down, Sims scored a crucial try. Here was another example of a big call going against his side.

Ponga's return was a real positive. He was as dangerous as anyone on the field while Jayden Brailey, Brodie Jones, Josh King and Pasami Saulo could all hold their heads up. In a boost, Jacob Saifiti, Kurt Mann and Bradman Best will be back for the Sharks game at home on Friday although Chris Randall will be out of action for some time.

There is still a long way to go but after three straight defeats and with tough games approaching, this Sharks clash on Friday night could well be season-defining.