Concussion, injury issues plague Knights in golden point draw

Concussion and potential injury worries will sour the week ahead for the Newcastle Knights as they attempt to pick up the pieces after a golden point draw against the Manly Sea Eagles in Mudgee on Saturday afternoon.

The game, which saw both teams trade tries throughout, ultimately saw 64 points, but neither team was able to break the deadlock during the ten-minute period of golden point.

Newcastle will have more worries though heading out of the game, which leaves them with two wins and a draw from the opening five rounds after five-eighth Tyson Gamble suffered a concussion, and young forward Mat Croker left the park with seemingly a rib injury.

Gamble was taken out of the game in the 65th minute after getting into an awkward position attempting to effect a tackle.

Ruled a Category 1 concussion by the NRL bunker's independent doctor, the half, who moved from the Brisbane Broncos during the off-season, will now be sidelined for a minimum period of 11 days.

It means that he will miss next Sunday's clash with the New Zealand Warriors at home, with coach Adam O'Brien likely to have to call Phoenix Crossland into the side to start in the halves, unless he shifts Lachlan Miller away from fullback.

Of more concern for the Knights is the potential for Mat Croker to join the injured list in the middle third after he copped a big shot to the ribs from Jake Trbojevic during the extra period of play as the teams attempted to break the deadlock.

He immediately went to the sideline and hunched over, in considerable pain.

The Knights are yet to provide an update on the young forward.

The 32-all draw was the second week in a row of golden point for the Sea Eagles, who fell to the Rabbitohs by a field goal last weekend, with the men from the Northern Beaches now facing a six-day turnaround before playing the Melbourne Storm next weekend.

Newcastle, after playing the Warriors next week, face a difficult period, with all of the Penrith Panthers, North Queensland Cowboys and Parramatta Eels on their fixture list before heading into a bye.