Knights coach Adam O'Brien has been left scratching his head at a drop in discipline against the Warriors and is at a loss to explain how his side could go from the penthouse to the basement with referees in the space of seven days following their 20-16 win in Gosford.
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The Knights were near faultless in the opening round against the Bulldogs with highly experienced referee Ben Cummins labeling Newcastle's 80-minute effort as one of the most disciplined he had ever refereed.
But a week later with Grant Atkins in charge against the Warriors, the Knights were heavily scrutinised at the ruck and were on the wrong end of six 6 again rulings with the Warriors only pinged once, in the final set of the game.
The discrepancy was a big factor in the Warriors having nine extra sets than the Knights in attack which left Newcastle having to make 117 more tackles than their opponents.
Despite the victory, O'Brien is considering querying the difference in interpretations with referee officials this week.
"We've gone from the peak to the valley real quick," he said. "We were excellent last week but I don't think we earned one 6 again [against the Warriors] - we might have earned a couple but we didn't get any.
"I need to sit down and work out why - whether that was us or [whether I] have a chat [to the referee's boss] during the week. I thought our big men found their front fairly well and were fighting hard but i don't know what's happened in seven days there."
O'Brien did not publicly criticise Atkins and chose his words carefully after the game but the Knights were privately far from happy about the lopsided count.
Meanwhile, Newcastle's second straight win to start the season may delay the pending return from knee surgery of veteran playmaker Blake Green.
After undergoing a knee reconstruction late last season, Green has been back in full training for the past week and is expected to be available for the club's round four clash against St George Illawarra at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday, April 4.
But the Knights' unblemished start has taken the pressure off getting key players Green and Kalyn Ponga back on the field as soon as possible.
If the Knights can make it three from three against the Wests Tigers at home on Sunday, O'Brien admits he will be tempted to err on the side of caution and give Green an extra week to prepare for his comeback.
As it stands, Kurt Mann will return in the No.6 jersey for the Tigers clash after missing the Warriors game with bone bruising in his knee.
Youngster Phoenix Crossland, who deputised for Mann in Gosford, is facing a two match ban if he takes the early guilty plea after being charged with a grade two crusher tackle on Warriors winger David Fusitu'a.
Teammate Tyson Frizell was also hit with a dangerous contact charge by the match review committee for a tackle on Eliesa Katoa but will escape with a fine and be free to play against the Tigers.
Barry Toohey
Barry Toohey is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald. He covers the Newcastle Knights and hosts the Toohey's News Podcast.
Barry Toohey is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald. He covers the Newcastle Knights and hosts the Toohey's News Podcast.
