NY KNIGHTS 2009 AMNRL CHAMPIONS!

Knights Fall to Axemen 18-28

June 20, 2009


In a disappointing performance, the Knights lost their game against the now undefeated Jacksonville Axemen by a score of 18-28.

The Knights arrived on an early morning flight from New York where the weather was an unseasonably cool 70 degrees only to be welcomed by some good old southern hospitality and 100+ degree temperatures at kick-off! Even with the scorching temperatures the Knights were unable to uphold one of the game's Cardinal rules "...Thou shalt hold on to the ball when in your opponents red zone!". The Knights in the first half alone gave the ball 6 times within the Jacksonville 10 meter line. The inability to get over the line and their overall lack of urgency in their own half gave the Axemen a gift they never expected to receive.

While the Knights did show some bouts of bravery during the game primarily through the individual efforts of Second Row Xavier Lozinguez, Stand-off Chris Carey, Props Andre LaMorgia, and Sean "Baby Face" Taylor the team's overall inability to organize themselves during defense and attack sealed their fate.

"I am disappointed in the final result of the game" said Knights Head Coach Guill Cieutat. Cieutat was also very complementary to the Axemen "...hats off to Jacksonville who improved tremendously since the last time we played them. They handled the heat much better then we did and forced us on our back foot all game. "

After the game the exhausted Knights players sat in the locker room and had an impromptu team meeting for over an hour. According to Knights Captain Gareth Baxendale, "...coach had us look at each other and ask was this how we wanted the rest of the season to go?". At the end of the meeting the Knights left the locker room and it was clear that the answer was no! "We all agreed that this 'gut check' was probably necessary for us to go through at this point in the season. We know that we are a much better team then how we played today; now we will use the rest of the season to prove it both to ourselves and to our fans!" concluded Baxendale.

The Knights will use this weekends experiences to help them focus during their training sessions this week as the prepare for their home game against the Northern Raiders this Friday night starting at 9pm.

Scoring for Knights: Gareth Baxendale, Luke Hume (2)
Conversions: Luke Hume, John Meoli (2)