St George Illawarra have emerged as the frontrunners to sign former NSW prop Daniel Saifiti as the Newcastle Knights reshape their roster in their quest to end a 23-year premiership drought.
Amid claims that the Knights are plotting yet another roster overhaul, Newcastle officials privately insist there are no plans for a sweeping clean-out, having already undergone the third-highest roster change in the NRL over the past two seasons.
Newcastle have bought and sold 18 players across the past two seasons – only the Bulldogs (25) and Tigers (21) have had a greater turnover over the past 24 months.
However, one player that has been given permission to explore the open market is Saifiti.
The powerful Knights forward has two years remaining on a deal that is slated to pay him in excess of $850,000 a year and is believed to have met Dragons coach Shane Flanagan in the last few days.
The Knights have ramped up an attack on their salary cap since recruitment boss Peter O’Sullivan stepped into the job a fortnight ago and began to take a look under the bonnet.
Saifiti is likely to be the highest-profile departure but others are expected to follow as Newcastle look to create some room to strengthen their squad and make a run at a third title.
One player who won’t be leaving is five-eighth Tyson Gamble, whose retention on a two-year deal was confirmed on Friday.
“Tyson has been a major contributor since his arrival at the Knights,” Newcastle head of football Peter Parr said.
“His energy and enthusiasm are contagious for everyone around him, he plays with a toughness that has earned the respect of his teammates and this community.
“This selfless attitude Tyson brings to our club has meant extending his contract was an easy decision, we are delighted he will remain a Newcastle Knight.”
DANIEL THE DRAGON?
Saifiti is believed to be on a deal that pays him in excess of $850,000 next season.
St George-Illawarra are counting on Newcastle paying a large portion of that figure in order for the Dragons to sign the towering prop.
At the time he signed his huge contract, Saifiti was a State of Origin player and it could be argued the deal was par for the course.
This masthead recently revealed the benchmark figures for front rowers across the NRL and the top five props in the game are paid an average of $1.05 million this year.
Saifiti isn’t one of them but he is one of the game’s elite front rowers and has been an integral piece of the puzzle at Newcastle. Since he last played Origin, however, the likes of Leo Thompson have emerged.
Brother Jacob has also played Origin over the past two seasons while the Knights also have high hopes for NSW under-19s second rower Cody Hopwood, who is still at school and finished at No.2 on this masthead’s list of the best schoolboy rugby league players in the country.
Hopwood has been upgraded to a top 30 deal in recent weeks and is in line to play first grade as soon as next season.
There is a view that Tyson Frizell’s days as an edge back rower could also be coming to an end, meaning he could be destined for a permanent shift to the middle.
Saifiti’s contract and the surfeit of middle forwards at the club means he is a luxury item that the Knights can no longer afford. He is also a proven player who has begun to attract interest from elsewhere.
Rival clubs likely won’t take his entire contract, but they’ll chew up a fair chunk of it which should give the Knights room to manoeuvre with other parts of their roster.
LEAPING LEO
The Knights’ cap is tight but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some cracking deals in their favour. At the top of the list is prop Leo Thompson, who was emerged as one of the better front rowers in the NRL since joining the Knights.
Thompson was signed by Newcastle from Canberra’s Jersey Flegg team in the lead-up to the 2022 season and the Knights quickly extended his contract until the end of 2025.
At the time, he was a relative unknown and it is understood his deal pays him less than $300,000 this season, well below the benchmark for a front-rower of his class.
Next year, it goes up but not by a significant amount. Newcastle know they have a bargain in their ranks – Thompson made his Test debut for New Zealand last season – but they also know their hands are tied by their cap constraints.
They would no doubt love to give Thompson an upgrade next year as part of a long-term extension that would keep him at the club for the foreseeable future.
They just don’t have the wriggle room to do it and rival clubs are watching with genuine interest as they plot an attack on the Newcastle roster, targeting arguably their best front rower.
Newcastle can ill afford to lose him, particularly if they allow Saifiti to leave ahead of schedule. They also know their chances of keeping him will slip dramatically unless they can find a way to upgrade him at some point before November 1.
MORE PLAYERS TO COME?
Jayden Brailey and Jack Hetherington are the two players who are reportedly free to leave at the end of the season, although it is understood neither player nor their management have received anything in writing.
Both players have another year remaining on their deals and are likely to be told that they can go if they can find a longer-term contract elsewhere.
In Brailey’s case, it will be with reluctance.
He is a favourite of teammates and coaches alike but again, the Knights are blessed at hooker with the Phoenix Crossland showing last season that he is more than equipped to fill the role.
There are also some within the club who believed that Jackson Hastings has the potential to be a quality No.9, although that could mean the Knights need to find another half.
It is understood in the lead-up to Sunday’s game against Canberra that Hastings has even spent some time training at hooker in case Brailey is injured or needs a rest.
Fletcher Sharpe, who has been so impressive at fullback in the absence of Kalyn Ponga, could then come on and play in the halves.
Hetherington simply hasn’t been value for money and the Knights are unlikely to offer him an extension, which means they may be willing to let him go if he comes to them with a better offer.
THE DROUGHT
The Knights last won a premiership in 2001 but there have been some green shoots in recent years under coach Adam O’Brien, most notably the they qualified for the finals last year.
Surprisingly given their salary cap concerns, the one player they don’t have any issues with is captain Kalyn Ponga. The Knights had to break the bank to keep him out off the clutches of The Dolphins – and their then recruitment boss O’Sullivan – but the superstar fullback has been at the heart of their revival.
His absence this season has been hard felt and there is a belief that if they can keep him on the park for the reminder of the year, the club can make a charge at the finals.
The impending roster changes aren’t necessarily about the now. They are more about the future and the need to keep improving the squad so they can threaten for a premiership.
