Jono078
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First I'll start with a little recap of 2021 before giving thoughts on expectations for 2022.
Is this year a pass mark? I'm not sure. If you told me in the pre-season that we'd finish 7th and bow out week 1 of the finals in a competitive game I'd probably say ok sounds like a solid season. But I don't like the style in which we achieved this. It's certainly pleasing they put in the effort to get themselves in that position when you consider the circumstances surrounding injuries and COVID, but I'm left yearning for more.
Knights overall I'd say a 6/10.
Going through some players;
Kalyn Ponga - Few on here would say I don't appreciate him but I just expect more. This was his 4th season for us and I don't know that he's improved a whole lot and certainly consistency is an issue. There are aspects of his game I cannot stand, not for someone on his pay packet and you see what other top fullbacks do so well in these areas that Ponga doesn't.
2022 : Going to assume he remains at fullback. I would like to see him improve his defensive positioning and not be in the line so much. Understand this is maybe a coached thing but we need him being better at clean-up work at the back, and as last line of defense. Hopefully he stays injury-free and our spine really gel and get our team moving around the park efficiently.
Enari Tuala - He might just turn into a really solid winger. He does need to add some muscle and impact in his kick returns though.
2022 Expectations: Continue his improvement and consistency. He's capable of being Hunt 2.0 I believe.
Bradman Best - Very mixed year but I'd say mostly below-par. It's only recently he's starting to cop some criticisms of his game. For someone of his talent and size, I'd expect to see him bend the line and explode through gaps more often than not, instead most of his hitups are in the same vain of Saifitis and Klemmer, strong but most likely not going to do much.
2022 : Stay healthy, get him involved better so he's not doing all the tough plays that dont go anywhere. I'd almost go as far as saying it's a real big year for him, he needs to take his game to the next level in attack and defense or he'll soon be looked at as another Mata'utia that never reached the heights we thought they would.
Kurt Mann - The less said the better? I think there is a solid player in there if he could eliminate the errors, but if you've been saying that he's whole career I guess you accept him for what he is now and use him only when desperate.
2022 : I think he's our new 14 and we're just going to have to hope the coaches come up with a way to best utilise him and ensure he doesn't get in our way.
Hymel Hunt - bit of a down year but still OK.
2022 : More of the usual Hymel.
Jake Clifford - Couldn't be happier with his signing. He's been a breathe of fresh air and shown some qualities we've been desperate for over the past few years. A killer kicking game and someone who wants to win and is there on all the effort plays. I think the young bloke will develop nicely and I already would say there aren't many young halves, if any, that I'd trade him for.
2022 : Continue to improve and be a more dominant member of our squad. All signs are 2022 will be huge for Clifford, IMO
Mitch Pearce - Tough one to analyse. Actual on-field performance is probably his worst season yet, but he's obviously important to the team in other ways. We need to hope he doesn't get any slower next year but the positive is he is only on a 1-year deal.
2022 : Wouldn't surprise me if he's played his last game for us today but if he's with us next year, then surely he know's it'll be a now or never season and hopefully that brings out the best in him.
David Klemmer - You know what you're going to get from him
2022: Will probably be the same old Klem. Interested to see if he's part of our roster next year though.
Jayden Brailey - This is one I want to be careful of. Brailey offers us some really good things like defense, leadership and service. I am afraid of what attacking prowess he has though. Sometimes he's too much of a distrubutor and I'd like to see more playmaking from him. I'm not sure how far his current style of play will get you/the team in the modern game. I'd like to see a bit more speed and variety with his options from the play-the-ball.
Dan Saifiti - thought he started the season really strong but then faded and injuries affected his play. Will need him to take his consistency to another level next year. When Dan is on the whole team looks good and feeds from it. His influence is that strong.
Mitch Barnett - Last year he would have some really good games then others that were really average. This year I felt was his most consistent and you could argue he was one of our best this year. Plenty of effort from him this year. I think we've witnessed his ceiling but he's good enough to be in the 17 for sure.
Expectations for 2022:
1. Sign a quality assistant / attacking/defending coach
2. Sign a quality edge forward
We basically have the same roster next year minus Watson which is a loss, because he had a fairly positive involvement for us this year. So I am a bit concerned that we have the same guys next year and we're expecting them to go at least one better than this year. We'll obviously be hoping not to test our depth so much. Knowles has me excited knowing that the players will probably be as fit as they've ever been under him.
Assuming we're healthier next year and the team is able to gel and play a better brand of footy that suits us, you would be expecting to get at least 2 more victories (Tigers) which means a 5th or 6th position is probably best case scenario and what the expectation should be.
It's going to be a long off-season but this is the first one in a few years where I'm not heading into it so excited about next years prospects. The last 3-5 years have been exciting because it's almost felt like the only way is up for the following season. This one though I'm not so sure.
I want to finish with saying I think 2022 is a make or break year for the club. Either the signs are there we've improved enough to compete with teams currently ahead of us or we falter and the roster and coach have to be blown up and start from scratch again.
Is this year a pass mark? I'm not sure. If you told me in the pre-season that we'd finish 7th and bow out week 1 of the finals in a competitive game I'd probably say ok sounds like a solid season. But I don't like the style in which we achieved this. It's certainly pleasing they put in the effort to get themselves in that position when you consider the circumstances surrounding injuries and COVID, but I'm left yearning for more.
Knights overall I'd say a 6/10.
Going through some players;
Kalyn Ponga - Few on here would say I don't appreciate him but I just expect more. This was his 4th season for us and I don't know that he's improved a whole lot and certainly consistency is an issue. There are aspects of his game I cannot stand, not for someone on his pay packet and you see what other top fullbacks do so well in these areas that Ponga doesn't.
2022 : Going to assume he remains at fullback. I would like to see him improve his defensive positioning and not be in the line so much. Understand this is maybe a coached thing but we need him being better at clean-up work at the back, and as last line of defense. Hopefully he stays injury-free and our spine really gel and get our team moving around the park efficiently.
Enari Tuala - He might just turn into a really solid winger. He does need to add some muscle and impact in his kick returns though.
2022 Expectations: Continue his improvement and consistency. He's capable of being Hunt 2.0 I believe.
Bradman Best - Very mixed year but I'd say mostly below-par. It's only recently he's starting to cop some criticisms of his game. For someone of his talent and size, I'd expect to see him bend the line and explode through gaps more often than not, instead most of his hitups are in the same vain of Saifitis and Klemmer, strong but most likely not going to do much.
2022 : Stay healthy, get him involved better so he's not doing all the tough plays that dont go anywhere. I'd almost go as far as saying it's a real big year for him, he needs to take his game to the next level in attack and defense or he'll soon be looked at as another Mata'utia that never reached the heights we thought they would.
Kurt Mann - The less said the better? I think there is a solid player in there if he could eliminate the errors, but if you've been saying that he's whole career I guess you accept him for what he is now and use him only when desperate.
2022 : I think he's our new 14 and we're just going to have to hope the coaches come up with a way to best utilise him and ensure he doesn't get in our way.
Hymel Hunt - bit of a down year but still OK.
2022 : More of the usual Hymel.
Jake Clifford - Couldn't be happier with his signing. He's been a breathe of fresh air and shown some qualities we've been desperate for over the past few years. A killer kicking game and someone who wants to win and is there on all the effort plays. I think the young bloke will develop nicely and I already would say there aren't many young halves, if any, that I'd trade him for.
2022 : Continue to improve and be a more dominant member of our squad. All signs are 2022 will be huge for Clifford, IMO
Mitch Pearce - Tough one to analyse. Actual on-field performance is probably his worst season yet, but he's obviously important to the team in other ways. We need to hope he doesn't get any slower next year but the positive is he is only on a 1-year deal.
2022 : Wouldn't surprise me if he's played his last game for us today but if he's with us next year, then surely he know's it'll be a now or never season and hopefully that brings out the best in him.
David Klemmer - You know what you're going to get from him
2022: Will probably be the same old Klem. Interested to see if he's part of our roster next year though.
Jayden Brailey - This is one I want to be careful of. Brailey offers us some really good things like defense, leadership and service. I am afraid of what attacking prowess he has though. Sometimes he's too much of a distrubutor and I'd like to see more playmaking from him. I'm not sure how far his current style of play will get you/the team in the modern game. I'd like to see a bit more speed and variety with his options from the play-the-ball.
Dan Saifiti - thought he started the season really strong but then faded and injuries affected his play. Will need him to take his consistency to another level next year. When Dan is on the whole team looks good and feeds from it. His influence is that strong.
Mitch Barnett - Last year he would have some really good games then others that were really average. This year I felt was his most consistent and you could argue he was one of our best this year. Plenty of effort from him this year. I think we've witnessed his ceiling but he's good enough to be in the 17 for sure.
Expectations for 2022:
1. Sign a quality assistant / attacking/defending coach
2. Sign a quality edge forward
We basically have the same roster next year minus Watson which is a loss, because he had a fairly positive involvement for us this year. So I am a bit concerned that we have the same guys next year and we're expecting them to go at least one better than this year. We'll obviously be hoping not to test our depth so much. Knowles has me excited knowing that the players will probably be as fit as they've ever been under him.
Assuming we're healthier next year and the team is able to gel and play a better brand of footy that suits us, you would be expecting to get at least 2 more victories (Tigers) which means a 5th or 6th position is probably best case scenario and what the expectation should be.
It's going to be a long off-season but this is the first one in a few years where I'm not heading into it so excited about next years prospects. The last 3-5 years have been exciting because it's almost felt like the only way is up for the following season. This one though I'm not so sure.
I want to finish with saying I think 2022 is a make or break year for the club. Either the signs are there we've improved enough to compete with teams currently ahead of us or we falter and the roster and coach have to be blown up and start from scratch again.