KempoKnight
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SOME of Newcastle's biggest stars will be in the crosshairs of supercoach Wayne Bennett as he grapples with a salary cap squeeze at the Knights. While Tinkler has pulled off one of rugby league's greatest coups in securing Bennett for a four-year coaching term, a new challenge awaits in assembling the mining magnate's dream team.
Loyal fullback Darius Boyd is set on following Bennett to the Hunter and Sharks prop Kade Snowden has been approached by the owner himself.
That will mean the Knights will have to slash $800,000 a season worth of talent from their roster, which is currently at salary cap breaking point.
"We're maxed right out," said a reliable club source. "It took a lot of juggling with numbers to keep us under this year when Chris Houston unexpectedly returned."
At least three players will have to be sacked if Bennett brings together the team he wants and conducts a similar overhaul to when he first arrived at St George Illawarra. Veteran centre Adam McDougall will free up $150,000 when he retires at the end of the season and others are off contract, including Kiwi Test centre Junior Sa'u, although he is on only $180,000. He wants $250,000 to stay.
Current fullback Wes Naiqama's contract is up and he'll almost certainly have to make way for Boyd.
Hooker Isaac de Gois agreed to terms for a new deal under former chief executive Steve Burraston two weeks ago, but the contract has yet to be ratified by the Tinkler Group and is now in grave doubt.
The most intriguing case will be the Sharks' Origin prop Snowden, who agreed to terms with Cronulla a month ago but changed his mind when Tinkler personally phoned him and offered $400,000-a-year.
Does that offer still stand?
Not if Bennett sticks to his unwritten rule of not paying front-rowers more than $300,000 a season to get the right talent balance across his footy teams.
At the Broncos he let champion prop Glenn Lazarus go to Melbourne Storm and allowed Petero Civoniceva go to Penrith because he refused to match the offers and weaken other positions.
Bennett will no doubt want to hand-pick his own roster at the Knights like he has done at the Broncos and the Dragons to win his seven premierships.
When he left the Broncos to join the Dragons at the end of 2008, he immediately signed Michael Weyman (Raiders), Jeremy Smith (Storm), Luke Priddis (Panthers), Neville Costigan (Raiders), Darius Boyd (Broncos), Matthew Head (Tigers), Micky Paea (Roosters) and Nick Emmett (Broncos).And he released Jason Ryles (England), Josh Morris (Bulldogs), Mark Gasnier (French rugby union), Rangi Chase (England), Lagi Setu (Broncos), Ben Rogers (Knights), Kirk Reynoldson (retirement), Simon Woolford (retire- ment) and Matt Mundine (Rabbitohs).
Bennett insists his full attention remains on the Dragons' premiership campaign and not on planning for the Newcastle Knights next year.
Who do you think out of our off contract players will he let go and who do you think he will release? And who will replace them?
My thoughts
Sau gone. 180k supposadly
Wes gone 100k?
Doogs gone 150k supposadly
Mika gone 60k?
Tolar gone 100k? god probably more
Karawana gone 80k?
Ciraldo gone 120k?
Lulia gone 80k?
Rogers gone 80k?
Macdonnel gone 80k?
10 players = 1.03mil
Also potentially no De gois
With the chance to get third party sponsors how much room to move would this give us?