Rumoured Targets 3

[Apey]

Hunt should be playing 9. His main problem is he's like the anti-Cleary in clutch moments. He wants way too much either way though. He wouldn't come here for anything less than a mill and he's not worth that much.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Don’t really see how Cogger and Gamble could be in that “overpaid plodder” basket, they make f**k all money, and plugging in respectable journeymen to maintain decent results while waiting for the right player to be available is basically Roosters cap management 101.

Hastings was obviously the desperation move and the overpay, but things might be different if his leg didn’t get completely f**ked up, I’m guessing that messed with his emotional state a bit.

I guess if the footy department had their time over they’d probably just stick with Gamble and Clune in 2023 and hold off until a proper blue chipper could be pursued. But you’ve gotta remember that Hastings’ arrival immediately precipitated a massive and obvious improvement to the team’s attack, without which the club is likely under immense pressure to fire their head coach all season. They’d have to stick solid through all that which is easier said than done.

Otherwise - the club has done the young highly touted prospect thing - Jake Clifford. Blew up in our face. He complained about homesickness till he found his way back to Nth Qld via the Super League side door.

The club has signed a marquee half in Mitchell Pearce. He’s the person most responsible for f**king us over and leaving us in the predicament we ended up with, by the manner in which he left - we stick by him an give him an extra year, he turns around and cries at us after he denied us any chance to replace him and pisses off for a glorified paid vacation in the Super Shit League. Also picked up Trent Hodkinson fresh off his Origin heroics, no not in the elite category but a very good club half. His knee exploded almost immediately the moment he arrived, as seemed to happen with every single hooker we’ve signed for the past decade.

Does anyone see my point about luck yet? I’m not going to pretend the Knights have always made the optimal decision, but the degree to which fate has kept its boot on the club’s face since Wests took over is bizarre, and I think AOB deserves a bit of credit for getting us to the finals more often than not anyway.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

That is all pipe dream stuff for any club that isn’t Penrith or Melbourne. Not even the Roosters has that sort of record.

Top 8 isn’t average - it’s above average. We are an above average team - we are good, just not great.

Agree we should - and I think we are - aspiring to be great.

The Knights are anywhere from a 12th to 8th team - average. With the arguably the greatest player of his generation in a purple patch he might carry us slightly higher.

Don’t really see how Cogger and Gamble could be in that “overpaid plodder” basket, they make f**k all money, and plugging in respectable journeymen to maintain decent results while waiting for the right player to be available is basically Roosters cap management 101.

Cogger and Gamble certainly fall into the - taking the spot of a younger player with a higher ceiling category and the type of player offered short contracts during a rebuild. Ditto Elliot Hetherington and Hastings.

Clifford's career had stalled and was in and out of first grade at the Cowboys.

Pearce was past his prime. There is a valid reason the Rorters let him go and won Premierships. Pearce was at a stage where he should have mentored our next exciting junior or young recruit to lead us into the future - but no the Knights let that ship sail and instead he often played alongside average journeymen like Kurt Mann. ..... Pearce should have been punted a year prior to leaving. He was done.

In more recent times Canberra have gone the right path and we will see a very competitive side coming through. Besides our new hooking option Arthur the Raiders have a junior NSW SOO spine under contract.

The Bulldogs are now up the top in every comp in NSW , and given time will be the next club to have sustained success.

Luck has little to do with it.

 

[Yosh]

Wow. Didn't think everyone would be so riled up about this sorta thing.

We need to put a proper team around Ponga. He is literally the best player in the game. If we don't win at least one Premiership with Ponga, we should just close up shop.

 

[HarVeeGee]

It’s certainly very frustrating that the Raiders have brought in Chevy Stewart, Ethan Strange and Ethan Sanders in the last few years, all very highly touted young kids, and seemed to be the only club in the race for Kaeo Weekes who was totally unwanted when they picked him up, and seems like he’s going to make it as a first grader now. Meanwhile the Knights fixated on Will Pryce, who’s the version of Weekes who couldn’t get a consistent run for an average Super League team. This was very dumb. The Raiders are clearly one of the well run clubs though even though the coach is terrible. They’ve also retained Jamal Fogarty on decent money though - a bang average but reliable first grade halfback, same tier as Hastings ability-wise so the exact sort of player a good club wouldn’t sign allegedly - and they look f**king shithouse when he’s not playing. That’s the thing about young, inexperienced prospects. They make a lot of young player errors and you need a steady hand to guide them. Look at the Broncos when Reyno isn’t playing.

Bet you anything the Bulldogs slide next year (unless they pick up Ben Hunt as rumoured).

As for Mitch Pearce, we’ll never know the truth, but the Chooks say they wanted to keep him and have him learn from Cronk (it’s not unthinkable that Keary could have been the one forced out), and you’re taking the piss to call a 28 year old halfback “past his prime”. He wasn’t. He was right in the middle of it. He started falling off a cliff over 2020-21. I think there’s a determination to never admit the club ever makes a right decision if Wests signing a 28 year old Luai to play halfback, a position he’d played 3 times in first grade, is smart, and Newy signing a 28 year old Origin halfback is dumb. And if Pearce was a bad move, how can you say signing Mitch Moses, who’s turning 31 next year, would be a great move?

As for Clifford - a talented young player whose career had stalled. Oh like Jahrome Hughes? Tom Dearden? Kaeo Weekes? Luke Keary? Damn what kind of dumb club would sign a guy with talent who seems to be struggling to put it together? Always turns out wrong.

 

[Yosh]

Pryce was 5/8th of the year in NSW cup. Might be too early to make the call on him yet!

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

And if Pearce was a bad move, how can you say signing Mitch Moses, who’s turning 31 next year, would be a great move?

much better player than Pearce and as my above suggestion would be perfect to partner and mentor a young half to lead us into the future. I'd say he would make an instant difference and make the Knights destination attractive for a young half looking to be groomed to take the reigns in a couple of years.

I really never understood the Pearce hype.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

Bet you anything the Bulldogs slide next year (unless they pick up Ben Hunt as rumoured).

The point is they are building to the future, the club is on the up in every comp in the state since Gould came to town.

He's employed journeymen like your Mann's of the world to plug a hole in the cap as he shifts the pieces to bring in blue chip players to bed the culture and nurture youth through their pathways = winning formula.

The Knights recruitment is like they are in perpetual rebuild mindset with no ambition to win a Premiership.

 

[Rod]

Interesting how when we sign a couple of journeymen like Gamble and Elliott we never hear the end of how terrible it is, but when the Bulldogs sign Kurt Mann they're apparently geniuses.

 

[PhilGould]

Rising Knights star Dylan Lucas is set to ink a two-year contract extension to remain at the club, but another one of his high-profile teammates is set to wait until after November 1 to decide their future.

Lucas was a revelation for Newcastle this year with the 24-year-old cementing himself in the top 17. He made his mark in the back row but was versatile enough to switch to centre when needed. Lucas had 12 months left on his deal but opted not to test the open market.

While Lucas is locked in, his back-row partner Kai Pearce-Paul has indicated he will explore his options once the trade window opens.

He is the second high-profile Newcastle player to elect to do so after Kiwi prop Leo Thompson told the club of his intentions to test free agency in recent days.

Pearce-Paul will command more than $600,000 on the open market as his two-year deal with Newcastle expires at the end of next year.

The 23-year-old had a breakthrough year in his first season in the NRL playing 22 matches.

Pearce-Paul and Thompson are expected to attract interest from a host of clubs.

The pair haven’t ruled out extending their time in Newcastle but now the Knights face a battle to retain them.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/saint-sinner-shoosh-david-gallop-leads-sydneys-push-for-nfl-game/news-story/cae759de7897e9f3922492e862596f08?amp

 

[Woody90]

If we don't win at least one Premiership with Ponga, we should just close up shop.

Yosh I’ve gotta break it to you, we’re not going to win a comp with Ponga. In fact, no club that’s not the Penrith Panthers is going to win a comp in the next 3-4 years.

We can argue till we’re red in the face that “we need to sign X, Y, Z player to win a comp” but at the end of the day there’s going to be a lot of talented players, not just Ponga, who are going to miss out on winning a comp due to a once in a generation crop of players that played at the same time. I don’t care how many of them they lose, they’ll keep the key ones to keep winning. If KP wants a comp his only chance really is to sign with Penrith. He’ll probably leave us to go to the Roosters or something because Uncle Nick will tell him he’ll win a comp there but it won’t happen.

 

[Woody90]

Rising Knights star Dylan Lucas is set to ink a two-year contract extension to remain at the club, but another one of his high-profile teammates is set to wait until after November 1 to decide their future.

Lucas was a revelation for Newcastle this year with the 24-year-old cementing himself in the top 17. He made his mark in the back row but was versatile enough to switch to centre when needed. Lucas had 12 months left on his deal but opted not to test the open market.

While Lucas is locked in, his back-row partner Kai Pearce-Paul has indicated he will explore his options once the trade window opens.

He is the second high-profile Newcastle player to elect to do so after Kiwi prop Leo Thompson told the club of his intentions to test free agency in recent days.

Pearce-Paul will command more than $600,000 on the open market as his two-year deal with Newcastle expires at the end of next year.

The 23-year-old had a breakthrough year in his first season in the NRL playing 22 matches.

Pearce-Paul and Thompson are expected to attract interest from a host of clubs.

The pair haven’t ruled out extending their time in Newcastle but now the Knights face a battle to retain them.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/saint-sinner-shoosh-david-gallop-leads-sydneys-push-for-nfl-game/news-story/cae759de7897e9f3922492e862596f08?amp

I didn’t think it was possibly to love Lucas any more than I already did but apparently it is.

I’d have to assume KPP is exploring his options more from the perspective of his skills aren’t being used well in the current coaching set up (that or he wants to go to Sydney or another capital city like most British lads do). If he thinks he’ll get more than his current salary elsewhere his manager is dreaming (although may indicate POS has told him he’ll need to take a pay cut to stay past next year).

 

[HarVeeGee]

Lucas is the exact kind of player successful clubs are built on. Very talented, yes, but actually seems to genuinely love the club, a very high quality kid off the field from everything I’ve heard about him, and clearly absolutely works his arse off both in training and on field. If he was a Penrith Panther he’d be in that Liam Martin basket of guys they’ve prioritised retaining.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Yosh I’ve gotta break it to you, we’re not going to win a comp with Ponga. In fact, no club that’s not the Penrith Panthers is going to win a comp in the next 3-4 years.

We can argue till we’re red in the face that “we need to sign X, Y, Z player to win a comp” but at the end of the day there’s going to be a lot of talented players, not just Ponga, who are going to miss out on winning a comp due to a once in a generation crop of players that played at the same time. I don’t care how many of them they lose, they’ll keep the key ones to keep winning. If KP wants a comp his only chance really is to sign with Penrith. He’ll probably leave us to go to the Roosters or something because Uncle Nick will tell him he’ll win a comp there but it won’t happen.

Not sure about that. I can see Penrith having a bit of a dip the next couple of years thanks to Luai and JFH leaving, that’s a massive hole in their team and they don’t have experienced replacements for either. Also Cleary’s body seems pretty beaten up at the moment and if he has another lengthy stint on the sidelines next year then they’re relying on a couple of NSW cup players to steer the ship.

Not saying Penrith will fall out of the top 8 but I wouldn’t necessarily have them as premiership favourites or even top 4 certainties without those two next year. That being said Melbourne seem to manage it pretty well whenever a key player leaves or retires so who knows?

Besides there’s a couple of big clubs who have looked poorly coached recently (Broncos & Souths) who will have a new coaching setup next year so I wouldn’t be surprised to see these teams back up around the top 4 again.

All that being said… it’s hard to see any other side breaking the Penrith/Storm/Roosters premiership monopoly any time soon.

 

[HarVeeGee]

much better player than Pearce and as my above suggestion would be perfect to partner and mentor a young half to lead us into the future. I'd say he would make an instant difference and make the Knights destination attractive for a young half looking to be groomed to take the reigns in a couple of years.

I really never understood the Pearce hype.

I actually hated Mitch Pearce, but there was no reasonable prospect of getting anyone better, and we had young players who needed a leader who’d set standards etc. I think he would have helped Kalyn’s development.

Not having an actual half in the 6 jersey until we finally got Clifford with the intent he’d be the future 7 (unfortunately this blew up in our face) was definitely a f**k up though. Pearce has never been the guy you can pair up with a pure running 6 like Adam Reynolds - played his best footy with James Maloney for example - but for some reason the club seemed convinced he was.

 

[slotmachine]

Storm should be red hot favourites in 2025. Not losing anyone, adding Utoikamanu.

Panthers will be top 4 though, most likely outcome is a repeat of this year's GF.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Not sure about that. I can see Penrith having a bit of a dip the next couple of years thanks to Luai and JFH leaving, that’s a massive hole in their team and they don’t have experienced replacements for either. Also Cleary’s body seems pretty beaten up at the moment and if he has another lengthy stint on the sidelines next year then they’re relying on a couple of NSW cup players to steer the ship.

Not saying Penrith will fall out of the top 8 but I wouldn’t necessarily have them as premiership favourites or even top 4 certainties without those two next year. That being said Melbourne seem to manage it pretty well whenever a key player leaves or retires so who knows?

Besides there’s a couple of big clubs who have looked poorly coached recently (Broncos & Souths) who will have a new coaching setup next year so I wouldn’t be surprised to see these teams back up around the top 4 again.

All that being said… it’s hard to see any other side breaking the Penrith/Storm/Roosters premiership monopoly any time soon.

Dynasties look like they’ll never end until they do. There will be a dip eventually. They actually are getting worse every season - Brisbane really should have beaten them last year - and Fish and Luai are absolutely the toughest asks to replace so far.

Storm should be red hot favourites in 2025. Not losing anyone, adding Utoikamanu.

Yep bang on. See how good Blore has been at a club which actually sets standards. Melbourne aren’t actually very well built to beat Penrith in the way Brisbane were, especially when Nelson got suspended - until now. You need powerful middles who can smash them up the guts and then to be able to play quickly off the back of that (this is why Parra were the good team which seemed to match up against them best before Brisbane).

Also I reckon the types of games they had in the finals - the Sharks and Roosters didn’t exactly put up gritty performances against them - didn’t prepare them for the way Penrith played them at all.

They’ll be better for the experience and I think they’ll win the comp. Big question is just whether their more workmanlike players like Josh King can keep redlining like they have been this year for just one more season.

Sharks should also get better, but Nicho’s fluctuating confidence is a real worry.

 

[Woody90]

Not sure about that. I can see Penrith having a bit of a dip the next couple of years thanks to Luai and JFH leaving, that’s a massive hole in their team and they don’t have experienced replacements for either. Also Cleary’s body seems pretty beaten up at the moment and if he has another lengthy stint on the sidelines next year then they’re relying on a couple of NSW cup players to steer the ship.

This is said every year though after they lose a lot of players. Players that everyone says will be key losses but they end up not being so. It’s always the same case with Cleary too. Even if he’s injury prone throughout the year, if they can just finish somewhere in the 8 when he comes back none of that will matter.

A lot of people were writing them off this year as having regressed due to a few meaningless losses during the regular season, but when the whips were cracking the final result wasn’t even close, and that was against a team that was leading the comp most of the year. Honestly I can see them winning another 3-4 easily - they have age on their side.

 

[Woody90]

Dynasties look like they’ll never end until they do. There will be a dip eventually. They actually are getting worse every year

Everyone says this but here we are 4 years down the track and the GF wasn’t even close.

I’m not saying they’ll just keep winning forever, that’s obviously not going to happen, but for the immediate future I can’t see them being beaten when the whips are cracking.

 

[slotmachine]

What about last year when the broncs had the game won until the biggest choke in GF history?

If they had even AOB as coach instead of kevvie they would have won.