Newcastle Knights NYC forward Korbin Sims says the Knights were not happy with their performance in the 28-28 draw with the North Queensland Cowboys at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
With Newcastle trailing 28-22 with seven minutes remaining, Chanel Mata’utia scored out wide to bring the home team within two points. Lachlan Shipard kept his composure to nail the sideline conversion and salvage a point for the Knights.
However, despite having a player sin-binned in the second half and being forced to come from behind to level the scores, Sims said the Knights were still disappointed with the final result.
“It felt like a loss. A draw was a good result, but the way that we performed today for our draw was unacceptable,” he said.
“It was an alright finish for us, but we still need to work on a few things. It was a bit disappointing we couldn’t get away with a field goal at the end, but drop ball killed us.”
Despite his disappointment, Sims said he was pleased with the charcter the Knights showed to stay in touch with the Cowboys following Will Smith’s sin-binning midway through the second half.
“Obviously being one man down is always hard playing against a full team. It was good by the boys, the outside backs really stepped up,” he said.
“It was only ten minutes though and we got through that period and I was pleased the boys held on with so much heart.”
Saturday’s draw was Sims’ second game back since injuring his finger in round four. The 20-year-old said it had been difficult watching from the sidelines during his layoff.
“It was very frustrating. Obviously last year when I played under 20’s I played 23 games straight or whatever it was,” he said.
“To be out injured so early in the season, I know it’s only a short period of time, but it’s always frustrating watching the boys, especially if they’re getting a good win or getting beaten.
“Getting beaten is the hardest thing to watch because you know you’re on the sideline and they’re out there doing it tough and you just wish you could be in the middle with them.
"It's my second game back from injury and the finger is going good so I’ve just got to work on a bit of skill work and get team preparation right."
