Knights 2021/22 Off-Season

[ryan.a87]

When you have Klemmer and Saifiti x2 in the team, who cares if king can make metres? That’s the simple reason why he won’t be missed.

10 bucks says now he is at Melbourne….he’ll make the nsw team before jsaf does

 

[Johns Magic]

When you have Klemmer and Saifiti x2 in the team, who cares if king can make metres? That’s the simple reason why he won’t be missed.

I didn’t say what you have implied. We won’t miss him too much in our full-strength team.

I said King is already capable of pumping out decent numbers, and he may well get the chance this year. So don’t be surprised or think the Storm have magically got blood out of a stone that we couldn’t.

But to respond directly to you. If two of those three you named are out in any game next season, like we had this year against the Storm and Broncos, I don’t think anyone left in our squad now can fill that void like King did. And King made more metres than Jacob(Storm) and Klemmer(Broncos) on those games.

Hopefully someone new steps up, but King was finally a proven entity and a cheap local product. So I am a bit disappointed to see him leave. But good on him and I hope he does well down there.

 

[Johns Magic]

I think the main difference between King and Sue defensively in terms of aggression and mobility. Sue started alot of games because AOB recognised that he provided some defensive starch in the opening stages of a game. King is a solid NRL prop but would any of this debate be surfacing if he had signed for any team beside the storm? Bellamy has a history of balancing his team and salary cap with toilers like King, Tom Eisenhuth, Chris Lewis, Bryan Norrie, Max King, Jaiman Lowe, etc

I agree Sue fits the 4th middle spot in our full strength 17 better for the reason you mentioned.

I’m not intending to debate anything. Just saying I think he has already shown he’s capable of it.

 

[Knight Tales]

I think King did get motoring in 2021. You only have to look at the numbers he was already producing. I felt like this was a coming of age season for him.

The games in which he played more than 30 minutes, which were generally because of injuries and so he actually got the chance to show what he could do, were

R4 Dragons: 36 mins, 97 metres
R13 Eels: 36 mins, 110 metres
R18 Storm: 45 mins, 103 metres (best of our props, we got flogged)
R25 Broncos: 52 mins, 195 metres

I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t do well at the Storm. I reckon Bellamy will be lining him up to plug the NAS/Kamikamica/Finucane gap.

People here talk up Sue, and yes he’s handy, but Sue or King? I’m not sure. I think Sue may have a touch more skill, but King is more likely to churn out metres on a weekly basis. I like them both and having both was a bit of a luxury for us last year that we’ve now lost.

His early fitness numbers coming out of Melbourne appear to be excellent. He seems to tick all the boxes Bellamy wants. i agree with you. His numbers were solid if not a little above before he left. Can see big improvement headed his way. He is far from the so called ‘ceiling’ I read about around here. Bellamy doesn’t buy players who have peaked.

 

[Johns Magic]

I think the main difference between King and Sue defensively in terms of aggression and mobility. Sue started alot of games because AOB recognised that he provided some defensive starch in the opening stages of a game. King is a solid NRL prop but would any of this debate be surfacing if he had signed for any team beside the storm? Bellamy has a history of balancing his team and salary cap with toilers like King, Tom Eisenhuth, Chris Lewis, Bryan Norrie, Max King, Jaiman Lowe, etc

Also I should add before he proves it next year. I think King is better than the other props on that list.

 

[Apey]

Man how things can change in a few years. He was an out and out plodder to begin with and now we're (reasonably) asking if he will be missed.

 

[Jono078]

The King debate here is almost as good as the Ponga one haha.

I think it's clear cut. He's solid. He'll have a handful of 100m games for the Storm I'm sure. But will he be missed? Not a great deal I don't think. I have hopes Saulo, Momisea and Croker can fill the void if required.

Heck even Fitzgibbon should maybe take his place and play in the middle.

 

[aqua_duck]

Also I should add before he proves it next year. I think King is better than the other props on that list.

I agree considering Lowe and Norrie went there later on in their careers but my point being Josh King is a very typical low budget Bellamy signing who is perfectly capable of doing a simple job.

 

[aqua_duck]

His early fitness numbers coming out of Melbourne appear to be excellent. He seems to tick all the boxes Bellamy wants. i agree with you. His numbers were solid if not a little above before he left. Can see big improvement headed his way. He is far from the so called ‘ceiling’ I read about around here. Bellamy doesn’t buy players who have peaked.

Ummm that's completely false, I can name 15 Bellamy signings over the years who had either peaked or were past their peak:
George Rose
Tom Learoyd Lahrs
Jason Ryles
Nate Myles
Jaiman Lowe
Adam woolnough
Clint Newton
Ben Roberts
Ryan Morgan
Sam Kasiano
Matt White
Beau champion
Junior sau
Sandor Earl

 

[Knight Tales]

Ummm that's completely false, I can name 15 Bellamy signings over the years who had either peaked or were past their peak:
George Rose
Tom Learoyd Lahrs
Jason Ryles
Nate Myles
Jaiman Lowe
Adam woolnough
Clint Newton
Ben Roberts
Ryan Morgan
Sam Kasiano
Matt White
Beau champion
Junior sau
Sandor Earl

So you can definitively say he never improved any of those?

 

[Spot On]

Yep, pretty much.

 

[aqua_duck]

So you can definitively say he never improved any of those?

Well that's not the point you raised was it? In any case most of those guys played less than 20 games and didn't reach any great heights under Bellamy and they weren't expected to, they were signed as guys who would do a specific job. Not everyone player that goes to Melbourne turns into a superstar

 

[PhilGould]

Usual pre-season fluff piece, this time about development squad centre/five-eighth, Krystian Mapapalangi. AOB says he doesn't doubt that Mapapalangi will make his debut this year, and also added "he's got the skills of someone like a Latrell, like a young Michael Jennings but with a bit of Cody Walker about him." Talk about setting the bar high.

Teenage Knights centre earns 'Latrell' comparison

"He's got the skills of someone like a Latrell, like a young Michael Jennings but with a bit...

www.newcastleherald.com.au

 

[Jono078]

Wow... I think AOB is actually roopy!

IYKYK.

 

[Burwood]

Usual pre-season fluff piece

Teenage Knights centre earns 'Latrell' comparison

"He's got the skills of someone like a Latrell, like a young Michael Jennings but with a bit...

www.newcastleherald.com.au

That’s all well and good, but what I really want to know is, is this the hardest preseason that the boys have ever done?

 

[ryan.a87]

Barry Toohey just announced his retirement over twitter….literally the only journo I trusted in sports news

 

[Frederick]

Barry Toohey just announced his retirement over twitter….literally the only journo I trusted in sports news

The only reason I have a subscription to the Saturday Herald is for his column. Looks like ima have to cancel it now

 

[ryan.a87]

Yeah same….I’ll wait a week or 2 to see if someone takes over from him for the usual Saturday column….if not, I’m out

 

[ryan.a87]

Trying to cancel my digital subscription to the herald and it’s asking me to call them….surely I should just be able to cancel online

 

[Loose Cannon]

Trying to cancel my digital subscription to the herald and it’s asking me to call them….surely I should just be able to cancel online

I unsubbed a few weeks back. Don’t think it can be done via app, but website allowed me to do via email. You’ll get the usual “Are you sure we can’t change your mind?” sales pitch, but wasn’t too bad.