Cut-price Knights on top

[Frederick]

Cut-price Knights on top

By James Hooper | April 06, 2008 12:00am

JESSE Royal was a basketballer who became a cook in the New Zealand army. Keith Lulia brokered a deal with Brian Smith at a truckstop.

Cameron Ciraldo bought a house in Cronulla only to be cut by the Sharks. Zeb Taia and Richie Fa'aoso were Parramatta lower-graders who had too much traffic in front of them.

Dan Tolar was the injury-riddled Charlestown local junior just waiting to go boom. Cooper Vuna wasn't getting a look-in at the Warriors. The Gold Coast told Mat Hilder he was free to find a new club.

These cut-price, fringe NRL players have found refuge in Newcastle. The men coach Brian Smith identified as being on the outer at rival clubs, then recruited and moulded into key personnel for the Knights.

"Cronulla told me there was a spot there for me and then they turned around and told me they'd spent all their money,'' Ciraldo said. "They sort of left me in the lurch after I'd bought a house just down the road.

"But it's worked out great. We've got our couple of superstars but otherwise everyone's just sort of working their way up at Newcastle. So there's no egos.''

Stuck behind Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper at St George Illawarra, Dragons junior Lulia headed up the F3 with agent Steve Gillis to explore the opportunity at the Knights.

"We met Brian halfway. We were supposed to meet at McDonalds at this truck-stopping station but we ended up just going to like a diner there,'' Lulia said. "Brian really impressed me, so I pretty much agreed straight away and we did the deal to come to the Knights.''

The new-look Knights have emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the early part of this season. Knights football manager Warren Smiles praised Smith for his controversial cleanout last season.

"One of Brian's real strengths is he's very good at picking guys that might blossom given an opportunity and some one-on-one coaching.''

LINK

 

[Spike]

Brokering a deal over truck stop sandwiches. Doesn't get much more blue collar than that.

 

[roopy]

You'd have to say Smith has done brilliantly with recruitment.
I can't think of a real dud signing, and there are a few gems still to come through like Sau, the prop from manly with the impossible name, and even a few like Issac in NYC and the four or five kiwis in SG Ball.

 

[keeney]

I think a few are a tad dud. Finefauki (sic?) has done nothing in the past, Ciraldo has proved very little, Lulia is still touch and go.

 

[Karmawave]

You'd have to say Smith has done brilliantly with recruitment.

I think we should judge whether our recruiting was a success or a dud at the end of the last round this year.

Plenty of these blokes obviously played great at some stage to get a contract with other clubs.

Getting released by other clubs as being " discards " and " duds " was a decision based on their performances over the course of a career.

Lets just wait and see if some of these signings are duds.

I like the Houston and Hilder signings alot - but the jury is still out on the rest.

 

[keeney]

I'd add Naiqama to my list too. But I agree otherwise.

 

[Karmawave]

I can't add Naiqama to the list of good signings yet. He played more than 3 top games for the Dragons too , but he wasn't released for his footballing skills at the Dragons either...

Time will tell if he can keep it all together off the field.

I will wait until the end of the year to pass judgement on Naiqama and the others. If he plays 20 + games , scores 8+ tries and sets up many more, while staying out of trouble off the field - then it will be a good signing for the year.

 

[Pika]

I think a few are a tad dud. Finefauki (sic?) has done nothing in the past, Ciraldo has proved very little, Lulia is still touch and go.

Sione is on match payments and not much else.

Hardly a dud for the money....

 

[aqua_duck]

we should get sione on the coaching staff, get him to train Dureau, walsh, etc in the gym

 

[Frederick]

Luke Walsh...the next Mr Tonga?

 

[Spike]

Sione would use Dureau and Walsh as dumb-bells in the gym.

 

[Karmawave]

A few of the " discards " played like they were today.

 

[Frederick]

I'd only put Royal in that basket, the rest were fine

 

[Karmawave]

Taia was pretty ordinary. Wicks is pulling a Perry and stopping in alot of his runs.

Cam Ciraldo looks out of his depth in first grade.

Royal - well boy oh boy...

 

[Serc]

Except unlike Perry he keeps making 100m+ week in week out!

Its been said elsewhere, but any forward who was on the park in the first 20 minutes would've got their stats slaughtered this week...I think I heard Ciraldo made 22 tackles during that time or something, no wonder he didn't run any metres today before he was pulled off!

 

[Jono078]

Ciraldo made 27 tackles in that first 15 or so, not many blokes make that in a full game.

Wes was a let down in the first half, his ball handling has looked suspect all year really.

Houston tried hard to run over Witt, but Witt contained him well.

Taia runs and tackles well, Lulia was ok, didnt really get involved much, but he is improving each week.

Wicks and Fa'aoso were good, although id like to see Wicks run hard more often, he seems to walk up and get tackled, back in 06 he was a machine that noone could stop.

 

[Johns Magic]

Taia was pretty ordinary. Wicks is pulling a Perry and stopping in alot of his runs.

Cam Ciraldo looks out of his depth in first grade.

Royal - well boy oh boy...

Agreed with all but Taia. Thought he looked dangerous as usual.

 

[Karmawave]

Chris Houston today had a 5 minute segment which arguably single handledly cost us the game when the Warriors went out to 14-0.

2 drop balls ( one woeful ), and gave away 2 very obvious penalties which led directly to Warriors points.

The 14-0 was just too much to overcome.

As for Wes Naiqama - if there was a better example about " islanders " and their hands...

 

[Coopah_Knights]

LINK

to add to that list of players.
jarrod mullen was moving up the ranks as a cronulla junior.

 

[Coopah_Knights]

LINK

to add to that list of players.
i believe jarrod mullen was moving up the ranks as a cronulla junior in there development program .