Knights battle Boston in New York today @6:30pm

By Danny Roberts | @DannyRoberts74

New York Knights battle Boston 13s in New York - USARL Semi-Finals Saturday August 12 @6:30pm PIER 40.

Many teams would be overawed with the east coast side's progress but Knights Head Coach Guillaume Cieutat is making sure that the team stays grounded and doesn't focus on past results too much, but he is happy with how his side has developed.

"We're not really looking at our record to assess the quality of our season because we had some good and bad wins and a courageous loss in Philly. Overall, I'd say that we're very pleased with the development of our squad, particularly our young, local players who went through tough times last season when we were struggling to be competitive due to our inexperience."

The New York Knights were successful in the former AMNRL competition winning the Grand Final on four occasions (2002, 2009, 2011 and 2012) but on the field success is not what drives the Knights.

"I think that our season is successful according to our main metric: We have a strong local players base who are committed to rugby league and have improved since last year. Winning some silverware again would obviously be a great achievement but it's only the 2nd season of our rebuilding phase so we are certainly not getting ahead of ourselves in that respect."

The Knights are very appreciative of the organization and the structure provided by the USARL and share the same goal of being extremely committed to growing the game in the USA. Cieutat's main focus is on making sure that his players enjoy and progress their game as best they can.

"Quite frankly, you can always import a bunch of quality foreign players and win a couple comps but there's nothing perennial in that and that doesn't help the game much. We want to win if it's the result of the team's high performance but we will never compromise our mission to grow the game and make sure rugby league has a positive impact on young Americans. As a coach, my only goal is to maximize my player's potential, individually and collectively, so they become better players and better teammates."

When the Boston 13s traveled to Randalls Island looking to find a chink in the Knights' armor in Round 3 they were humbled, losing to the New York side 42-6. That game must surely be in the mind of both coaches and for Cieutat the team talk should just be 'more of the same' right? Not at all, that's not how the Knights work and in complete respect for themselves and their opponents it's as if that game doesn't exist anymore.

"That Round 3 game is completely irrelevant at this stage. Boston was understaffed on that day and they appear to have fixed the issue with quality players joining their squad in the interim. We're actually not focusing too much on Boston - it's more about us efficiently playing our own brand of footy."

The Knights, having already beaten the 13s this season and finishing on top of the division, will be seen by many as the favorites, but Cieutat would disagree with that statement and believes the 13s are just starting to bring it all together when it really matters.

"Boston is a quality side with very experienced players at key positions so it will be a tough test for our young squad. They are the defending champions and their recent results are showing that they are in an ascending phase so we're clearly the underdogs here. I believe that their spine 9-7-6-1 is quite potent."

Knocking the defending champions out of the competition at this stage would be a confidence booster for any team, but the Knights, as respectful as ever, are keen to live in the present.

"We never project ourselves beyond a game that hasn't been already played. We're just going to try to be organized, hard to beat and have some fun in the process."

Playing the 13s on the 13th, that would be seen as unlucky for some, but Cieutat and his side are hoping to make it a Knight to remember.

Playoffs Round 2: August 13th 2016
New York Knights vs Boston 13s (Kick off 6.30 at Pier 40)