Lamb rapt as Knights see NRL silver lining

Newcastle five-eighth Brock Lamb says he's starting to believe in himself after a difficult introduction to the NRL.

Brock Lamb of the Knights

Brock Lamb says he's starting to believe in himself after a difficult introduction to the NRL. (AAP)

In the space of a few short weeks, Newcastle NRL five-eighth Brock Lamb has gone from whipping boy to poster child.

Besieged and mocked after their heartbreaking loss to Canterbury, he was hailed as a pillar of their ongoing rebuild following last week's drought-breaking win over St George Illawarra.

The 20-year-old learned some hard lessons after coming up with two mistakes in their round-18 loss to the Bulldogs. He botched a kick which resulted in Moses Mbye running away for the winning try and missed a penalty goal attempt after the siren to level the scores.

Fast forward three weeks and he set up two first-half tries as the Knights notched two points for just the third occasion in 2017, leading coach Nathan Brown to praise him for his ability to step up into first grade at such a young age.

With Connor Watson arriving next year from the Sydney Roosters, it's unclear where Lamb will fit into the Knights' 17 but Brown promises he still has a role to play.

Ahead of Saturday's clash with the Warriors at McDonald Jones Stadium, Lamb is reaping the rewards of his perseverance.

"I'm definitely a lot more confident than I was in say round one," Lamb said.

"It's hard learning all the different things I've learnt but it's put me in good stead and I'm moving forward, progressing nicely.

"I'm starting to back myself and believe in myself."

The Knights' hopes of going back-to-back took a hit on Friday when Shaun Kenny-Dowall was ruled out with a hamstring problem, replaced on the wing by Chanel Mata'utia.

The Warriors are without forward Bodene Thompson, who will be replaced by teenager Isaiah Papali'i in the starting line-up.

STATS THAT MATTER:

* The Knights have conceded the most second-half points this season with 300 at 15.8 per game

* The Warriors have lost four straight for the first time since the end of 2016

* Stephen Kearney's side are in the bottom five for metres conceded at 1470m per game, points conceded at 22.5 per game and tries conceded at 3.9 per game.

Source: Fox Sports Stats


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Lamb rapt as Knights see NRL silver lining | SBS News