Knights target Ennis and Finch for product recall
By ROBERT DILLON
BRISBANE hooker Michael Ennis has emerged as a likely target for his original club, the Newcastle Knights, after his dazzling man-of-the-match performance at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday.
And Knights coach Brian Smith revealed last night that another Novocastrian product, Parramatta halfback Brett Finch, also featured on Newcastle's preliminary hit list of potential targets.
Ennis left the Knights at the end of the 2004 season and joined St George Illawarra to escape the formidable shadow of Danny Buderus and establish himself as a starting dummy-half in the NRL.
But Buderus is in his final season with Newcastle, having signed to join Leeds Rhinos in 2009, and Ennis is a free agent at season's end.
Finding a quality replacement for Buderus is a high priority for Newcastle, especially after the club sacked his understudy, Terence Seu Seu, in the pre-season for repeated alcohol-related incidents.
Smith said last night he had only recently become aware that Ennis was off contract but indicated his display on Sunday, when he scored two tries and kicked seven goals from as many attempts against the Knights, had underlined his credentials.
"To be honest, I didn't even know he was off contract until eight or 10 days ago, but his performance the other day was absolutely outstanding and deserves consideration," Smith said.
"It was a brilliant performance.
"At this stage we're compiling a list of players who are available, and his name wasn't on our early list.
"But we found out recently that he was off contract, and his performance on the weekend just demanded that we give him some consideration.
"In the last two days I haven't met with [recruitment manager] Keith Onslow or [operations manager] Warren Smiles at this point about it, but there will certainly be some interest there from my point of view."
Ennis, who is in his third season with Brisbane, said last night that he had not yet started any contract talks with the Broncos or heard from any other clubs.
"My mindset is I just want to play six or seven games and play good, consistent footy," Ennis said.
"I let that sort of stuff [contract talks] take care of itself.
"I haven't heard anything, so it's all news to me."
Asked whether he would consider a return to his home town, the 24-year-old replied: "I suppose you've got to look at everything . . . it [Newcastle] is where I'm from, so I'd definitely have to look at it."
Finch, a Valentine-Eleebana junior like Ennis, was born in Maitland and lived in Newcastle until he was 16 when his father, former Knights and Hunter Mariners football manager Robert Finch, joined the Canberra Raiders.
A former Knights ball boy, Finch is a free agent at season's end, and there is speculation that Parramatta are struggling to fit him into their salary cap for 2009.
"His name's been discussed," Smith said. "We're aware that he's off contract, but at this point we're not rushing into anything.
"We're giving everybody at our place first pop at it, to show us what they've got before we jump in.
"Both those players [Ennis and Finch] are on our list of players we're interested in, but there are plenty of them."
Finch's manager, Steve Gillis, said last night his phone had been "running hot" but there had been no contact from the Knights.
"I'm not surprised they're interested, but I'm also not surprised I haven't heard from them," he said.
"It's only round five. Give me a couple of weeks and we should know a bit more."
