NEWS

Previous Seasons' News

Knights win their first game of the season 2006-05-28

Knights win their first game of the season. The New York Knights opened their year with a convincing win over their conference rivals, the Northern Raiders yesterday in Wallkill New York.

The Knights led by captain/coach Matt Astill scored 10 unanswered trys in the game which was marked by newcomers on both sides of the field. "This was a great beginning for the boys, it is always nice to start the year off with a win!" said Astill.

The Knights' offense was anchored by two newcomers, Australian Adam Nable and Frenchman Guillaume Cieutat. Both players brought much needed experience to this years team; with Nable playing hooker for several teams in the NRL including the West Tigers and Cieutat playing 5/8 for Ville Franche in France as well as on the French National team. The "Dynamic Duo" led by Nable's 2 trys and 9 conversions, will certainly be a force to reckoned with in this years competition!

The forward pack was led by props Matt Astill, Chris Martin and crowd favorite Hayden "TLG" James. Also making his debut as a Knight was English born prop Adam Sharples. Sharples a/k/a "Reverend AL" came in from England this season after playing for Oldham and looks to help stabilize the Knights forward pack this year.

The Knights also picked up two players this off-season from conference rivals Connecticut Wildcats(Jeremy Kosbob(cente/wing)) and the Northern Raiders (Col Manners (full back)). Both players made their presence known by scoring trys for their new club! Rounding out the scoring for the Knights was Paul Nicholas, Shane O'Driscoll, Luca Loguercio each with one try and hooker Gareth Baxendale with two trys.

The only injury for the Knights was Shane Denley, who suffered a fractured cheek bone while making a tackle in the second half. It looks like Denley will join fellow Goldcoaster Scott Roskell (Achilles tendon) on the sideline for the rest of the season! "While loosing Shane will hurt the club this season, we are nevertheless happy for the win! Shane played his guts out all game and it's a shame that it happened, but as he has said several times before...that's football!" said Knights Chief Executive Rob Balachandran.

The Knights will prepare this week for their week 3 match against the New Haven Warriors next Saturday afternoon in New Haven.

Back to news