Unwanted Paterson gutted: Shocked Cory shown door by Knights
BY BRETT KEEBLE
17 May, 2011 04:00 AM
SHATTERED back-rower Cory Paterson pictured himself as a Knight for life.
The two-time Indigenous All Stars representative, who was contracted at the Knights until the end of 2012, has been denied that dream after being told to find a new club for next season.
Knights coach Rick Stone and strategic development manager Keith Onslow broke the news to Paterson at a meeting last Friday afternoon, though it appears certain they were acting on the instruction of incoming coach Wayne Bennett.
Paterson, who missed Newcastle’s 25-16 loss to the Warriors at Ausgrid Stadium on Sunday due to bone bruising in his knee, told the Newcastle Herald last night that he was shocked at being told he would have to leave his adopted home town.
‘‘I always wanted to play here my whole career,’’ said Paterson, who was born in Perth but joined the Knights as a 16-year-old in 2004.
‘‘Anyone who knows me knows I’m a massive supporter of the Knights Old Boys and the whole club culture here – one town, one team – I’m all for that and that’s what I love about the place.
‘‘It’s my home. It’s where every major significant thing in my life has happened.
‘‘My son [Jax] was born here, I got married [to wife Sarah] here, I made my debut here.
‘‘Everything major in my life has happened here in Newcastle, but I suppose from here we assess a few things in the next few weeks and just go from there.’’
The 23-year-old impact forward said he had been in regular contact with his manager, Khoder Nasser, who was now in the process of trying to find him a new NRL club.
Paterson, who represented Australian Schoolboys from St Francis Xavier’s College, Hamilton in 2005 and has played 77 NRL games for the Knights since his debut against the Dragons in 2007, believed the decision was not personal.
He held no grudge against Bennett, who will replace Stone at the end of this season.
The Newcastle Herald has been told Paterson’s contract is worth close to $300,000 a season and the Knights, who have signed NSW and Australian prop Kade Snowden for the next four years and are trying to recruit Australian and Queensland Origin stars Darius Boyd and Nate Myles, considered Paterson too expensive to keep on their books.
‘‘I don’t know him [Bennett] personally and he doesn’t know me personally, so it’s not a personal thing. I think it’s more of a business thing, but I don’t really know,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve spoken to Khoder every day since Friday, so we’ll wait and see what happens.’’
Acting Knights chief executive Troy Palmer denied that the decision flew in the face of club owner Nathan Tinkler’s mantra of putting local talent first.
‘‘Yes, we’ll always look for local talent and Newcastle talent ... but we’ll also look towards building a premiership-winning team for Newcastle Knights supporters,’’ Palmer said.
‘‘We’ve got to build a successful roster that works within the salary cap and if there’s an opportunity for Cory to secure a longer-term contract elsewhere, we’ve given him permission to pursue that.
‘‘You want to keep everyone but you can’t, and the salary cap means you’re always looking ahead.
Cory is contracted, and we will obviously honour that, but we’re giving him an opportunity to secure a longer-term contract elsewhere.
‘‘There will be others over the next couple of weeks as we look to build our roster, and there will be some people we bring in that we’ll be applauded for, like the Snowdens, and there will be others that we’ll let go and we might cop it, like the Patersons, but we’ve got a salary cap to work within and it’s all about getting the best bang for our buck, I guess.’’
Stone made it clear that Paterson would not be the first Knights player to be told to investigate other options.
‘‘I don’t need to talk on behalf of Wayne and I can’t really talk on behalf of Wayne. I’m the coach who’s coaching here at the moment and there’s an incoming coach who’s obviously making some decisions, and at the end of the day
these blokes have been given the opportunity to explore some avenues elsewhere,’’ said Stone, who is yet to finalise his own future as Bennett’s assistant for the next four years.
‘‘That’s not saying they won’t be at the club next year, but obviously it’s probably a fair indication of the incoming coach.’’
Stone said all players had to remain focused on their preparation for games, and play and train to the best of their ability irrespective of uncertainty about their futures.
Paterson said he was unlikely to be fit to play for the Knights against the Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday but he was determined to finish the year playing at his peak.
‘‘This group of players, blokes like Mullo [Jarrod Mullen] and Houso [Chris Houston], they’re all my best mates,’’ he said.
‘‘They’re like brothers to me and I’ll be ripping in for them like nothing else.
‘‘Same goes for the fans and everyone who has supported me over the years, and if this is the last year that I play for the Knights, then I’m going to do them all proud. Same goes for the coaching staff who are here and the club in general, who have stuck by me, I’ll be doing my best.’’
http://www.theherald.com.au/news/lo...hown-door-by-knights/2164832.aspx?storypage=0
