http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/change-of-heart/2007/10/12/1191696170655.html
THEY didn't want him in May. Now, the Knights are set to meet with Clint Newton about the stunning possibility of bringing the premiership winner back home.
Yesterday, Newton stepped off a plane from Thailand, where he was celebrating with Storm teammates, to learn that Newcastle chief executive Steve Burraston wants to talk to him - possibly as soon as Monday.
The development provides a glimmer of hope that the back-rower will return to his former club just five months after coach Brian Smith told him he wasn't considered a "valuable asset".
Newton declined to discuss the prospect of returning to the Knights when contacted yesterday and said he wanted to stay at the Storm.
But that is becoming less likely by the day, with the premiers scrambling to find enough money to fit him into their groaning salary cap.
"My preference is to remain in Melbourne," Newton told the
Herald. "There are still a few things I'd like to achieve in the NRL. I'd like to play more representative footy. At Melbourne, I can do that under Craig Bellamy and the regime they have down there.
"If I don't stay in the NRL, the other option is to go to England with a big smile on my face and knowing I've shared something special with some good mates."
It was not clear last night if Smith will attend the meeting, but Burraston confirmed that any possible move for Newton was contingent on the coach.
"Brian Smith returns from annual leave on Monday and I'll be discussing the situation with him then," Burraston said.
"If he is interested, we'll talk to [Knights development officer] Warren Smiles to see if there are available funds in our cap. Our problem will be finding room under the cap."
Newton and Smith would have to put a truckload of animosity behind them if the player was to rejoin the Knights. After winning the grand final, Newton said: "Loyalty is what got me to Melbourne. I played under Craig Bellamy in the Country side and obviously he saw something in me that the other bloke [Smith] didn't, and that's all you're after as a player."
Newton has a better relationship with Burraston, who coached him at Jersey Flegg level and for Australia and NSW under-19s.
"I'm becoming fairly frustrated at the situation," Newton said of not knowing where he would be playing next year. "I would like to know what my future holds. I don't have an option anywhere [in the NRL] as it stands now."
His best bet still remains the Super League, and he is considering a two-year deal with Hull KR. Any deal to join the Knights would be contingent on what happens with forward Kirk Reynoldson, who this week took his case to the NRL appeals committee over the club's decision not to activate a clause in his contract giving him another year.
Any deal to remain at the Storm would depend on whether fellow back-rower Jeremy Smith accepts a three-year deal to join St George Illawarra.
