Newcastle Knights to be stuck with underperforming playing group until end of 2013 NRL season
By Barry Toohey
The Sunday Telegraph
June 17, 2012
The Wayne Bennett revolution is coming - it will just take another year before he can stamp his full imprint on Newcastle Knights.
NSW Origin star Greg Bird may well be on the Knights' radar for 2014 but there is little room in the salary cap to make any big moves before then.
"The real action will come at the end of 2013 when there is more than $1 million worth of players coming off contract," a club source said.
The Knights' salary cap for next season has largely been spent on player upgrades and the signing of Beau Scott from St George Illawarra and Dane Gagai from Brisbane Broncos.
Newcastle's fall from grace has prompted suggestions the knives are being sharpened for a cleanout similar to 2007.
Even contracted players such as Wes Naiqama and Junior Sau are being shopped around in a bid to free up salary cap room.
"But there won't be any more marquee signings for next year. Maybe a couple of middle-of-the-range players will be added, but that's about it," the source said.
As for the predicted player cleanout this year?
"There will be no player cleanout," Knights chief executive Matt Gidley said.
"Every club is looking at their roster right now and we are no different.
There are certainly players we are looking at in relation to their performance and if they are off contract. It stands to reason they need to be performing at their absolute best.
"It's the same at any club.
"I think the biggest thing with us right now is this club has certain standards and all our stakeholders - our supporters, our ex-players, our sponsors, everyone - expect them to be upheld.
"They are frustrated, as we all are. It's fair to say the current playing group is quite detached from those standards right now.
"That's what Wayne and the club is trying to address."
Bennett, who was signed on a $1-million-a-season deal, is looking at missing the finals for the first time since 1991.
Knights players were booed by their home fans last week when they lost to Canberra.
That didn't happen even during the 13-game losing streak in 2005.
"They don't mind if we get beaten, as long as they think the players are having a go," said former Knights forward Marc Glanville.
"Right now, their belief is too many of the boys aren't having a real dig.
"That's where we are at."
The sobering news for Knights fans is there is likely to be more pain before there is any major improvement.
Bennett has found himself without his best player, Kurt Gidley, and short on team leadership with a forward pack largely firing blanks.
"I can't see us getting out of it this season," Glanville says.
"Losing becomes habitual and a lot of the boys seem almost resigned to it, which is a real worry. Losing doesn't seem to be hurting some of them enough. That's always a bad sign.
"When our two best players over the past month are our oldest - Danny Buderus and Willie Mason - you have a problem. Should the rest of the playing group be embarrassed about that?
"Absolutely they should.
"I'm looking at the Parramatta game in a fortnight and thinking if we lose that one, we'll win the wooden spoon."
