He helped Newcastle almost pull off one of the upsets of the season against Penrith, but Tyson Gamble has no issue handing back the No.6 jersey to Kalyn Ponga.
However, Gamble wants to remain somewhere in their 17-man squad and revealed Knights coach Adam O'Brien had initially intended to use the playmaker off the bench in a middle role.
Gamble, who had earlier scored the first of Newcastle’s three tries against the Panthers, slotted a 38-metre field goal from a wide angle to give the Knights a 15-14 lead in the 77th minute.
But the brilliance of Nathan Cleary, who responded with an equalising field goal a minute later, then another in the first minute of extra time, gave the back-to-back defending premiers a 16-15 victory.
Gamble puts the Knights ahead
“I hit it really well and I looked up and I sort of knew it was going in, then I looked at the clock and there were three minutes to go so I thought I don’t want to get too happy on it,” Gamble told reporters after the game.
“It would have been nice if we won it, but Nathan Cleary is one of the best halves in the world and he finished that game for them really well.”
Ponga, who has missed the past five games since being knocked out in Newcastle’s 14-12 victory over Wests Tigers on March 12, is scheduled to return against former club North Queensland in Townsville next Saturday night.
The Iceman cometh
O’Brien has given no indication of whether Ponga will replace Gamble at five-eighth, return to fullback at the expense of Lachlan Miller, or even come off the bench.
“We’re a better team when Kalyn’s playing, and whether he’s at fullback or whether he’s in the halves, it doesn’t really matter to me,” Gamble said.
“I’d like to think I’d still be in the team somewhere, but we are a better team when Kalyn’s playing.
“He’s one of our leaders, he’s obviously our captain for a reason, and he can break a game open with one play so we’re a better team with him in.”
In his Knights debut, Gamble replaced Ponga against Wests Tigers.
He has remained in that role for all but one of the five games Ponga has missed; sitting out their 34-24 victory over the Warriors on Easter Sunday after suffering concussion in their 32-32 draw with Manly at Mudgee eight days earlier.
“I was meant to play in the middle against the Tigers before Kalyn got knocked out, so there has been a plan to play me through the middle off the bench," Gamble said.
"If that’s the way ‘Adzy’ wants to go, I’m happy to do it. I just want to be in the 17 every week.”
Speaking to the media after the game, O’Brien confirmed Gamble will make the trip to Townsville.
“He’ll be in the team. I’ll find him a role. He’s a footy player,” O’Brien said.
Knights halves in perfect sync
“I’ll sort all that out once the dust settles on this game and we start looking at the Cowboys, but obviously tonight, he came up with some really big plays for us, and that’s what he does.
“He just competes, and him, along with Jackson Hastings, and Adam Elliott will be back in a few weeks, and Jack Hetherington, we’ve brought in competitors. That’s what I love about him.
“It was a hell of a job to nail that [field goal], especially when it was option two. We went to option one [Hastings], and it got closed off, so it’s a pretty big play.”
All the field goal attempts from Mudgee's golden point
Gamble, who joined the Knights this season after three years at the Broncos, would prefer to start but said, "I’m not really the type of player to demand something or really worry about where I’m playing”.
“I haven’t played enough footy to really lock down a position, and it’s hard to keep Kalyn out of the team,” Gamble said.
“As I said, he’s a game-breaker, we’re a better team with him in it, and if it’s in the halves then it’s in the halves and I’ll have to find myself another spot.”
After Newcastle scored three tries to lead Penrith 14-6 at half-time, Gamble felt disappointed about the team’s poor start to the second half when they allowed the Panthers back into the game.
“The first half, we were really good. We took the game to them, we didn’t really give them any leg-ups, but it was a tale of two halves,” he said.
“We were awful to start that second half and gave them too much possession and let them score an easy try, but we’re not too far off.
“We took it to the reigning premiers, and we’ve got a lot to hang our hat on.”
