Thinking about the game the day afterwards (with the emotions having settled down a bit) Newcastle dominated possession in the first half with the wind at their backs. We didn't give too much away in terms of penalties, Newcastle were just very good at pinning us back.
We conceded two tries later on in the first half when some levels of fatigue were taking their toll after doing so much defending. At this point, it looked as though Newcastle were the better side and had the match there for the taking.
After a quick start for the Dons in the second half, we quickly got the wind in our sails and did to Newcastle what they'd done to us in the first half. They looked more ragged in defence than we'd looked earlier. When Matty Beharrell kicked the 40-20, Newcastle were very low on energy and struggled to get back to defend the next play from which we scored.
Our fitness levels definitely seemed to help us late on but I wonder what might have happened had we been defending into the wind in the second half when we'd have been more fatigued? Would that have taken its toll on us?
The self-belief and determination of the Dons, inspired considerably by Kes, was great to see. The lads were 'very together' and that should stand us in good stead for the rest of the season. I'm sure they all feel very proud of themselves and rightly so!
Maybe there is one important lesson to be learned from today: even when you're winning, you can't afford to let the other team gain momentum or else games can change very quickly.
I thought Beharrell was extremely influential for the Dons. We've looked a far better team since he signed last season. I do worry about how we'd cope if he got injured.
We can't get too carried away after one win, nor should we have been too disappointed had we lost (although I suspect we'd not have slept very well last night had we lost) but would we rather tackle this season with Newcastle's squad of players, or with our squad of players?
I know, it'd be nice if we could slip one or two of their better players into our squad, but on balance, I think the Dons are favourites to finish above Newcastle come the end of the season, and that's not something many people would have thought prior to yesterday's game, and it certainly isn't a thought that any of us had at half-time!
Quite where Oldham, Workington, Hunslet, and Whitehaven will feature in the mix is still anyone's guess but we'll soon have a better idea after we've played Hunslet and Workington in the forthcoming games.
Personally, I'd still be looking to 'beef up' the side with some more players from Hull in the key matches to come. Whilst yesterday was good (in the end) we're not going to come back from 22-4 very often. With a couple more lads from Hull, we could enhance our chances of not putting ourselves in that position again.
