Rumoured Targets 3

[slotmachine]

Danny will be here. Zac is now there and how he develops only time will tell," Brown said.

"The Kurt Mann thing as a utility-type player could work so we took a look. But that hasn't unfolded because of different circumstances.

"With the situation with Slade, he was there to tag with Danny then he got hurt. We had Rory Kostjasyn there and he got hurt.

"It seems like no-one wants to wear our No.9. But it's a position we're developing. Jamie Buhrer has been playing a bit in there at training so there's some water to go under the bridge there yet."

You wouldn't put money down on who plays hooker (starting and off the bench) next year, that's for sure.

 

[Old dog]

The point I was making was that injury etc to Pearce is a bigger problem team wise than any other position, all other positions can be covered by someone closer to those being replaced, especially those in forwards and 1-5, possible exception Ponga.

 

[Spot On]

You wouldn't put money down on who plays hooker (starting and off the bench) next year, that's for sure.

Only the no 7 in the spine is settled which I hope changes as quickly as possible. Really want to see stability there as soon as possible not fart arsing around for half the season.

 

[mozza91]

Is Starling definitely gone? Did he find another NRL club? Might’ve been worth hanging on to him? Am I asking too many questions?

 

[MrTwoBits]

We have firmed from $2.50 to $1.81 round 1 against the Sharks post Klemmer signing.

People are starting to take us seriously in a way they haven't for more than half a decade.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Sounds pretty certain..

 

[Joel-22]

So bar another hooker/utility, we're done with signing new players?

I think I'm in the minority in that I'd love SJ lol

 

[Joel-22]

Is Starling definitely gone? Did he find another NRL club? Might’ve been worth hanging on to him? Am I asking too many questions?

Haven't heard zip about him since his debut in which he looked very small and out of his depth.

 

[Apatus]

At the risk of giving Brown more hooking options to try, maybe the long term 9 is already in the squad?
Could Mitchell Pearce transition to hooker towards the end of his deal to let a guy like Phoenix Crosslands play in the halves once he’s ready? Worked well for Peter Wallace

 

[Old dog]

At the risk of giving Brown more hooking options to try, maybe the long term 9 is already in the squad?
Could Mitchell Pearce transition to hooker towards the end of his deal to let a guy like Phoenix Crosslands play in the halves once he’s ready? Worked well for Peter Wallace

Lets win a premiership first then consider options.

 

[Spot On]

Haven't heard zip about him since his debut in which he looked very small and out of his depth.

He certainly did look tiny!

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Nathan Brown deserves so much credit for the way he’s put this roster together. I don’t think there were many of us who would have even hoped for this roster in 2019 when Brown took over back in 2016. Yet here we are with a team that (only on paper at this stage) looks like it could possibly push for a top 4 position. Obviously we still need to get some luck with injuries (which we certainly didn’t get in 2018) but there is so much to look forward to.

As far as I’m concerned Brown has gotten just about every decision right when it’s come to recruitment. The only two that are questionable are Griffin and Moga mainly because of their injury history but both played pretty much injury free seasons in 2017 so I still think it was a calculated risk by Brown and we were unlucky to lose them both long term like that.

One of the best signs is that there are a number of guys who played regular NRL football in 2017/2018 who may not get a look in for next year unless we have injuries. Hopefully we can have a little more luck with that in 2019.

 

[PhilGould]

Now this would really get the Knights Cooking...

Would Damien Cook give the Knights the best spine in the NRL? The Newcastle Knights recruitment drive over the past 18 months has been nothing short of phenomenal. And the Knights aren’t finished just yet. We keep hearing NSW and Australian hooker Damien Cook linked to Newcastle for 2020. The Knights have denied it but people keep pushing it. Could the link be NSW assistant coach and champion hooker Danny Buderus? Cook has immense respect for Buderus and enjoyed success working alongside him in the Blues Origin series victory this year. In the short-term, coach Nathan Brown is still keen on the idea of turning Dragons utility Kurt Mann into a hooker. The catch is St George Illawarra are holding firm on releasing Mann for now after going cold on Jarryd Hayne. The Dragons made an inquiry about the Knights releasing Shaun Kenny-Dowall as part of a swap deal, but Newcastle did not want to entertain the idea.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/ef015c7b91bc17848b66ca352cb2a075

We're not really going to have any major cash to play with in 2020 so I'm not sure how legit this is. I would be iffy on giving Cook a big contract too.

 

[Silent Knight]

If it jeopardizes Ponga remaining at the Knights for life, I'm dead set against it. Cook would want marquee money and I don't think we're in a position to be offering that anymore. The door is nearly shut at the Knights.

Of course if you were to sell it to him as an opportunity to win a premiership, and if the right contacts could throw a few TPAs his way, so we could get him here for less under the cap then by all means sign him. I've rated Cook since he emerged at Canterbury.

But is he worth losing Ponga over? No way.

 

[Yosh]

I'm sure the club has securely stashed away Ponga cap space for the next decade at least. Just put away 10% of the cap purely for Ponga and fill the roster up with the remaining 90%. I'd rename the club the Newcastle Ponga Brigade if it meant keeping him.

The club really needs to pump out Ponga head gear... I don't live in Aus but they haven't released anything like that right? Half the kids I'm primary schools would buy it around the country.

The prospect of bringing Cook in is fascinating. The amount of space he would create for the halves would be amazing. It's finally good to see the club prioritize the spine over stupid contracts for outside backs etc...

 

[Burwood]

Sometimes I think you live in a dream world, Yosh. What self-respecting kid would buy Ponga headgear when they could be purchasing Buhrer headgear instead?

 

[Silent Knight]

Sometimes I think you live in a dream world, Yosh. What self-respecting kid would buy Ponga headgear when they could be purchasing Buhrer headgear instead?

Don't give the Knights social media team any more ideas about Buhrer-related announcements.

 

[Burwood]

A genuine question on Cook- is he such a fantastic hooker because he controls the game and provides smart, quick service? Or is it because he’s lightning fast and makes lots of breaks? If it’s the latter, then the club should pass on him. I’d give my left nut for a smart, crafty hooker in the Buderus/Smith mould rather than someone who is a bit one-dimensional.

 

[newyboy]

A genuine question on Cook- is he such a fantastic hooker because he controls the game and provides smart, quick service? Or is it because he’s lightning fast and makes lots of breaks? If it’s the latter, then the club should pass on him. I’d give my left nut for a smart, crafty hooker in the Buderus/Smith mould rather than someone who is a bit one-dimensional.

It's the later, he would be a great bench player in a limited interchange game. Souths were shown up i think with the lack of creativity from Reynolds and Cook at the end.

PS: Mentioning Buderus in the same breath as Smith is a stretch. He had Joey, smith can run the whole team by himself.

 

[newyboy]

Yep because Eastern Europe is a rugby league hotbed

No, because you can mould Athletes to do most things.

As socioeconomic standards of families change in Australia (NSW/QLD) our pool of athletes is diminishing. Hell when i was a kid everyone played league or touch etc. Nowadays every nephew i have is at University (20 of them). Last generation they would have been playing league and they did until it was time to knuckle down and think about a future. 95% of the immigrants to Australia are education focused, we need to expand to the USA and Eastern Europe for talent.