And yes, quite possibly, he might have bitten down on his tongue and not uttered the words publicly had it been 10 or 15 minutes later after he'd had a chance to cool down a little.

But how refreshing was the honesty?

Daniel Saifiti said it for every frustrated Knights fan out there after the Knights' loss to the Sydney Roosters last Friday night when he openly questioned his teammates' commitment and the need to hold players accountable for their performances.

The Knights co-captain did it from a position of strength too during a post-game interview with broadcaster Fox Sports. He and his brother Jacob had just busted their backsides along with most of the forward pack against the Roosters. In a beaten side, the twin towers up front were outstanding.

The 28-8 defeat was not on them. They were let down by the ineptitude of their side's second half kicking game and the inability of a number of players to fight like tooth and nail for 80 minutes to get a result. Saifiti's disappointment spilled over afterwards in front of the camera when he said: "We've got to hold people accountable and being honest, some blokes didn't own up today and that's just being straight up fair.

"We have to turn into a club where you don't cop that stuff and I'll be going in there [dressingroom] and making sure it doesn't happen again and as captain, holding people responsible."

He didn't name names but he didn't have to. The message was loud and clear and he backed it up as he said he would by having his say in front of the whole playing group not too long afterwards.

The frustration for Saifiti lies in the fact he knows exactly what it feels like to have belief and a total buy-in from a playing group because he has witnessed it first hand at Origin level with the Blues.

He no doubt desperately wants his club side to at least show the same level of passion, commitment and will to win with their season now on the line after consecutive defeats.

There is no question the Knights have excuses for the predicament they find themselves in with six rounds to play out before the finals.

Injuries have been a killer. Their two best players Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga have played one game together all season - a 38-0 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at home.

All up, Pearce has played just 5 and a half games for four wins while Ponga has been on deck for 8 games for three wins which suggests the veteran halfback is more influential when it comes to results.

As a comparison, back in 2005 when Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus were together on the field for just 11 of the club's 24 games due to injuries, the Knights lost 13 straight to start the season and finished with the wooden spoon, despite having 10 players in the squad with Origin experience.

But other far more seasoned and mentally tough sides like the Roosters and Melbourne have been able to rise above their injury troubles this season because of the systems and culture they have in place.

The Knights, like quite a few other clubs in the competition, are still a long way from that level with several players in their ranks, given what we have seen, unlikely to ever help them get there.

Daniel Saifiti is trying to fix that. With honesty.

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