Rumoured Targets 3

[Woosh]

Rising teenage Cowboys star Jeremiah Nanai is just about the hottest property in the NRL right now. For good reason too after his stunning hat-trick against the Broncos last weekend.
But Knights fans all pumped up by the news Newcastle is one of six clubs interested in the skillful backrower should temper their excitement.
The man who signed Nanai to the Cowboys when he was just 15, current Knights recruitment boss Clint Zammit, believes the 19-year-old tearaway is unlikely to be going anywhere.

"We've expressed an interest in Jeremiah if he genuinely wants to look elsewhere but I'm not anticipating he will," Zammit told us. "I won't be surprised if remains at the Cowboys and stays in Townsville a bit longer."
Zammit was giving nothing away about other potential targets for next season but it's understood young English stars Will Pryce and Kai Pearce-Paul remain on the radar despite both being under contract to Super League clubs, Huddersfield and Wigan, for 2023.

Barney on the move?

Suspended forward Mitch Barnett's move to the Warriors at the end of the season with a year still left on his contract in Newcastle is not yet set in stone - but it will be.

It's understood the Warriors tried hard to prise him out of the Knights before a ball was kicked this season but their advances were blocked by the club. The Knights won't stand in his way a second time.
The writing was on the wall that Barnett was keen to explore options elsewhere when he parted company last year with former agent, local solicitor Mandy Hull, to sign with prominent NRL player manager Chris Orr.

Friz' contract call

One player not going anywhere is Tyson Frizell, who is expected to confirm his commitment to the Knights for next season within the next few weeks.

While plenty has been said and written about Kalyn Ponga having contract options in his favour for 2023 and 2024, Frizell's three-year-deal with the Knights also includes an option in his favour for his final year.

There is no suggestion he will leave and given his early season form, an extension is almost certainly on the cards.
As for Ponga, the talk of a move to the Wayne Bennett-coached Dolphins continues but insiders at the Knights believe it won't be long before he puts local fans out of their misery and takes up his option for 2023.


Milford's D-Day

Former Brisbane Broncos star Anthony Milford will be back in court in Brisbane on April 11 to answer assault allegations with his immediate NRL future potentially hanging on the outcome.

Milford will join the Knights for the rest of this season if he is cleared by the court and the NRL to return. But a further lengthy delay in determining innocence or guilt could see the Knights lose patience and look elsewhere to bolster their roster. The club is currently weighing up its options to fill their final two top 30 roster spots with Lachlan Fitzgibbon's knee injury and Mitch Barnett's suspension leaving backrow stocks a little thin.

Klem out for long haul

David Klemmer may have only had minor knee surgery early last week but it seems he won't be back playing anytime soon.

Klemmer has a history when it comes to knee issues which will mean his recovery will be slow and he's unlikely to be back on deck before round 9.

The news on Jayden Brailey is all positive after he ruptured his Achilles in January. It's an injury that can take five to seven months to recover from but his rehab is ahead of schedule and he could be back in early June.

TOOHEY'S NEWS: Cowboys gun out of reach amid Barnett departure talks

"The Knights won't stand in Barnett's way a second time."

www.newcastleherald.com.au

 

[Sir Galahad]

TOOHEY'S NEWS: Cowboys gun out of reach amid Barnett departure talks

"The Knights won't stand in Barnett's way a second time."

www.newcastleherald.com.au

That Barny move is a puzzling one. Have a kid and move away from family? it must be a bloody good offer.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Our back row stocks need an overhaul though.

would be a great opportunity to revamp and get some more mobile ball playing forwards in the pack.

 

[Woosh]

Don’t know what Nikora is wanting but he’s off contact and worth a look.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Knights' CEO Phil Gardner told The Newcastle Herald that he hasn't given permission to anybody to negotiate with the forward, while also confirming he wants to keep Barnett in the Hunter beyond the end of 2023.

"I've given nobody permission to negotiate with Barney," Gardner told the publication.

"But the reality is agents are always out there looking around, talking to other clubs.

"We are certainly keen to extend his deal and are already looking at what we can do to keep him here beyond 2023.

https://www.zerotackle.com/ive-give...ights-hit-back-at-barnett-speculation-115697/

 

[Seage]

I'm not fussed on Barney leaving. He thinks he a Paul Gallen-level hardman, but he 's got some absolute brainy's in him which cause penalties and Ive also seen him make some very lazy and soft efforts in defence (semi against Souths springs to mind). He's not a destructive attacking player on the edge that bursts through the line. He can provide some nice link and second phase play but overall he doesn't possess anything that can't be easily replaced.

More than that, Im surprised he WANTS to leave. He has seemed very invested in the team and area and going to the Warriors on a 3 year deal to play under Nathan Brown is ambitious. Browny will be lucky to see out the season.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I'm not fussed on Barney leaving. He thinks he a Paul Gallen-level hardman, but he 's got some absolute brainy's in him which cause penalties and Ive also seen him make some very lazy and soft efforts in defence (semi against Souths springs to mind). He's not a destructive attacking player on the edge that bursts through the line. He can provide some nice link and second phase play but overall he doesn't possess anything that can't be easily replaced.

More than that, Im surprised he WANTS to leave. He has seemed very invested in the team and area and going to the Warriors on a 3 year deal to play under Nathan Brown is ambitious. Browny will be lucky to see out the season.

I disagree on this , Barny does the tough stuff no one else wants to do. The stuff that no one notices. Those "lazy" efforts are more often than not after busting himself full throttle in the lead up plays.

There's a reason why he's a 2 time Buderus medal winner.

Lot's of talk about the Saf's and Klem , but Barny is the heart and soul of the pack, he plays with heart and effort that cant be coached, and not easily replaced.

 

[Woosh]

Reece Walsh worth a look.
Has a welfare clause in his contract like Aitken to quit the Warriors at the end of the year.
They can’t fit Munster + Ponga + Walsh at the Dolphins.
Who would you take out of the 3?
Newcastle one of the few clubs with money to spend.

 

[macavity]

Reece Walsh worth a look.
Has a welfare clause in his contract like Aitken to quit the Warriors at the end of the year.
They can’t fit Munster + Ponga + Walsh at the Dolphins.
Who would you take out of the 3?
Newcastle one of the few clubs with money to spend.

surely Walsh ends up at Dolphins or Donks

Ponga will pick up his option here I reckon. His value is dropping by the day.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Reece Walsh worth a look.
Has a welfare clause in his contract like Aitken to quit the Warriors at the end of the year.
They can’t fit Munster + Ponga + Walsh at the Dolphins.
Who would you take out of the 3?
Newcastle one of the few clubs with money to spend.

Walsh needs to toughen up a bit imo. I think we’d see some similar issues to what we see with KP. Lots of razzle dazzle but not sure if we’d get the overall body of work that some of the top fullbacks produce. Also he’s still a rookie and already has been in trouble for some off field stuff so some red flags there. On top of all that he doesn’t seem to be that loyal. He’s already been talking about leaving the warriors after they were the ones who gave him his big break.

Overall I’m not sold on Walsh’s character. The ability is definitely there but I feel like there’s a few too many red flags for a guy who hasn’t been around very long.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Not sure about Munsters leadership qualities, because that's what we need as much as a skilful spine player

 

[Woosh]

Not sure about Munsters leadership qualities, because that's what we need as much as a skilful spine player

Fair but you wouldn’t see Munster play in a dinner suit like Ponga did last night.

 

[Yosh]

I think Nanai might just be my favorite non Knights player. There is nothing fun about watching the Cowboys but I actually look forward to watching them just to watch Nanai for some reason.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Fair but you wouldn’t see Munster play in a dinner suit like Ponga did last night.

and he's probably more of a leader than Ponga

 

[Loose Cannon]

and he's probably more of a leader than Ponga

George W. Bush was more of a leader than Ponga.

 

[perverse]

He would take the $1.2m if he loved the town and club half as much as he proclaimed to in the past. He's obviously got people whispering in his ear too - Bennett likely to be topping that list, his mate Connor probably not far behind. I doubt it will just be about money if he leaves.

If he goes, I don't really care. If he stays, he needs to fully commit and be a lot better. At the end of the day - we're past "potential" time with Kalyn now and into "delivery" time. He needs to be delivering on the field. It's difficult to argue against that - through injury and otherwise - he has actually gone backwards quite a distance over the past 18 months.

The truth is, he may well go somewhere else and start delivering fully on his potential too. That'll just piss us off even more - but we've rarely been an environment where players shine since the years of Johns... so maybe some of that is on our club, too. People will be telling him that he'll never reach his potential at Newcastle, and we need to be real and acknowledge that maybe they're right too.

The most frustrating thing of all? If he DID play to his potential in our current team - we'd be a solid outfit right now.

 

[Knight Tales]

I am all for Kalyn leaving if his heart is not in it.. He clearly doesn’t care about the club at level we require of him. Can’t be angry at him. This is the way he is.
The fallout, if he says he is going, will be big. Fanbase will turn in him.
Update:
Joey’s reaction to Bennett talking to KP was pretty telling today. He is filthy. This going to get very messy.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I am all for Kalyn leaving if his heart is not in it.. He clearly doesn’t care about the club at level we require of him. Can’t be angry at him. This is the way he is.
The fallout, if he says he is going, will be big. Fanbase will turn in him.
Update:
Joey’s reaction to Bennett talking to KP was pretty telling today. He is filthy. This going to get very messy.

If Ponga does go I'd like to see him dropped for the rest of the year, and stripped of the Captaincy.

 

[TooheysNew]

If Ponga does go I'd like to see him dropped for the rest of the year, and stripped of the Captaincy.

And then we would never be able to get a quality player ever again.

Sending a message like that is just not realistic in the modern game.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Yeah agree, theres a reason you dont see teams do that to departing players especially locked in first graders

We'll just have to suck it up if it happens