''At the time it was definitely a distraction,'' Houston said yesterday.

''But no one dropped their bundle, you'd just rather it happened after the season.

''We've dealt with it now, we've moved on.''

The Knights have won their past two games since the Newcastle board sacked Smith two weeks ago and promoted Rick Stone to the top job.

If they can beat the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium tomorrow night, it will secure the Knights' first finals berth in three years.

''We know where our future is with Rick Stone coaching for the next two years and he's good for us,'' Houston said.

''Stoney has kept a lot of things in place that Brian had and to change things mid season probably wouldn't work ... He's laid back but he gets what he wants when he needs a response from the players.''

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times