The Canberra Raiders have continued their lacklustre start to the 2023 NRL season, falling 24-14 to the Newcastle Knights.
Sunday afternoon's loss leaves them stuck in 16th position on the ladder with just two points to their name.
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Raiders coach Ricky Stuart assesses 'inexcusable' performance against Knights
Both sides exchanged a pair of tries in the first half, but the contest was blown open in the early stages of the second stanza.
A 10-minute three-try flurry - with a Jack Wighton sin-bin thrown in the mix - saw Newcastle race ahead into a commanding lead that they went on to maintain.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart knew his opponents were going to be hard to peg back after their rapid scoring spree.
"In 10 minutes [the Knights] scored three tries - unacceptable from our point of view," Stuart said.
"They got their tails up and built a lot of confidence and belief off of that. At home here with a good crowd, they were always going to be hard to pull back.
"But we didn't give in. The boys kept on working until the end. They didn't break, they did a good job."
When asked whether the result was down to a lack of effort, Stuart was adamant that his side endeavoured to win the game, but admitted defensive lapses ultimately let them down.
"It's not an effort thing. They try every week, these blokes," he added.
"It comes back to execution and not being good at areas that we had to be good in defensively.
"It was inexcusable, some of the tries they scored [on us]."
Why did Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty not play against the Knights?
Raiders No. 7 Jamal Fogarty was a game-day scratching for Stuart's side, with Matt Frawley given the nod at halfback.
It was later confirmed that Fogarty missed the match due to a stomach bug.
Despite the late change in a key position, Stuart refused to make excuses about his team's performance.
"It's not an excuse. But it's a blow because [Fogarty] trained all week," he said.
"I feel sorry for [Frawley] having to be told this morning that he's going have to play. But he's experienced and he did a good job.
"I thought he controlled what he had to very well, and he wasn't the reason we got beaten."
