Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has strongly refuted claims that a party culture is to blame for the Knights' on-field woes, describing the team's behaviour as "tame".
The Knights slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat on Sunday with an embarrassing effort against Gold Coast and now sit second-last after only one win this year.
NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent suggested the players' focus on football isn't as sharp as it should be, using key duo Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga's joint birthday celebrations after a loss to Canberra in round three as an example.
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''There was a lot of talk about the party and all the rest of it [before that game] – I think they just got their priorities wrong in the week," Kent said.
Kent also said he heard "concerns coming into the season" that Newcastle lacked commitment.
NRL squad members Tautau Moga and Jacob Saifiti were embroiled in separate incidents during the summer involving alcohol and each copped club-enforced fines worth 25 per cent of their contracts.
Brown admitted the Knights of seasons past were guilty of excessive partying but insisted things have massively changed after a roster overhaul.
"Three years ago I would have thought, 'Hard to argue'. Two years ago I would have said, 'Can't really argue'," Brown said.
"Last year I saw a significant improvement in that area and this year again with the addition of 'Klem' [David Klemmer] and 'Glas' [Tim Glasby] and good, hard professionals that know how to prepare.
"I'd say it's as tame a group as I've coached in my life, and [director of football] Brian Canavan – 30 years in the game – said it's the tamest group he's ever been involved with.
"But we did have one or two off-field incidents in the pre-season and when they happened they were dealt with probably harsher than dealt with them in the past."
Calm despite the pressure mounting on his job, Brown accepts that whispers about the club's environment are par for their course when victories are scarce.
However, he said Newcastle's shocking form has nothing to do with their preparation.
"You lose a few games and these are the things we've got to deal with. As a whole, a lot of our players are really, really professional and they prepare very well," Brown said.
"It's just a part of what we deal with when we lose and if we were winning it probably wouldn't have rose again.
"But when you do have a couple of incidents and these things certainly rise off the back of a performance like the weekend.
"If we competed much better like we did against the other teams it may not have arisen but we've got to cop our medicine."