Knights keen to make tweaks during bye before finals push

After 14 games, the Knights are placed 13th following six wins and eight losses.

It's one position higher than where they were last year after the same amount of fixtures, following five wins, a draw and eight losses.

After this weekend's bye, Newcastle will be on 16 competition points, which will be at least two outside the top eight. Eighth-placed Manly are on 17 points ahead of round 16.

Last year, after the same amount of games, and byes, the Knights had 15 points.

"We've fallen out of the top eight, but we still see ourselves as one of the top teams," Knights centre Dane Gagai said after Sunday's 26-18 loss to Penrith.

"Obviously we'd love to be up there, but we're not that far out.

"The focus is fixing the things we need to fix in order to get those wins.

"We've pushed the top teams, but we don't want to be pushing teams, we want to be beating teams."

After losing skipper Kalyn Ponga to injury in April, the Knights won four consecutive games.

But they have now lost their past three against Canterbury, Melbourne and Penrith, blowing leads in the most recent two.

Against Penrith, Newcastle scored the opening try but conceded two in six minutes late in the first half to fall 20-6 behind.

They scored two in quick succession after the break to make it 20-18, but couldn't reclaim the lead.

"Like everyone, I probably put it down to that 10-minute period before half-time," Newcastle forward Adam Elliott said.

"But I think what people don't look at is the 30 minutes leading into that where they work you over.

"They work hard, they get a lot of quick play-the-balls, a lot of back-to-back sets on the try-line where they put so much fatigue into teams.

"That leads to a lot of fatigue and blokes not being in the spot they'd usually get to. They wait for that man that's not in the [defensive] line.

"So as much as it looks like lapses, you have to give them credit too."

Six of Newcastle's remaining 10 matches are against top-eight sides.

They also face 2023 grand finalists Brisbane, who are ninth.

Next up, they host Parramatta (15th), who they've lost six in a row to.

They then have away games against Canberra (seventh) and Manly (eighth), before hosting Brisbane and then their last bye.

Gagai believes that, despite what appears to be no easy run home, Newcastle are a better team than their position suggests and they can again reach the finals.

"100 per cent," he said.

"We showed last year, with that 10-game winning streak we had, that when we get it right, I believe we're one of those teams that are tough to handle.

"But we haven't been able to get it right.

"We've had our moments and we've shown glimpses, but we've definitely got a lot of self-belief and confidence.

"We've obviously lost 'KP', but we've had a couple of young blokes stand up ... it's just about coming together as a team and figuring out where we're going wrong."

Ponga and five-eighth Tyson Gamble are not due back until round 22, which is after Newcastle's third bye.

If all goes as planned, they will make a timely return for the last six games of the season starting against the Panthers at Penrith.

"Sooner or later, if we keep the same attitude ... we'll come away with a few of those close wins," Elliott said.

"But teams like [Penrith] and Melbourne have been the best teams in the NRL for a while now, and that's why - because they win the close ones.

"You take them to the brink, but they don't throw themselves off a cliff.

"A bit to learn from it."