What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Rumoured Targets 3

Old dog

Juniors
Messages
2,449
Bit sorry to lose King, he had improved, don’t know what he was on but can’t be much if less than was on. Don’t know if I would like to leave junior club for far off MELB for less but I hope it all goes well for him, not a bad footballer and apparently a decent bloke, not heard of anything otherwise
 

Johns Magic

Referee
Messages
21,654
Some players are willing to take a haircut in regards to their salary just to play with the Storm and be part of Melbourne’s system.

“The players willing to do that are the ones we want,” Bunn said.

“A kid like Nick Meaney will be a good buy for us from Canterbury.

“He’s one we think will thrive in our system.

“Josh King, from Newcastle, is another one. He took a bit of a decrease in wage to be coached by Craig.

 
Messages
3,663
Interesting to read that Josh King took a pay cut to sign with the Storm. They talked about him as a money-ball signing they look for down there.

He’s a good chance of being in their top 17 I reckon.
Discipline was his setback but then he took criticism on board and put the effort in to improve.
I reckon he'll go well in the Storm structure.
 

Mr_Knightside

Juniors
Messages
2,155
I can’t blame players for wanting to go and play for coaches like Robinson and Bellamy and be in those two systems. It’s now up to the Knights to become a club like that where players will take unders to play here because they know they’ll play finals and will be better players when they leave. If Watson and King did take less money to go elsewhere then the Knights need to learn from that and get better.
 

Woosh

Head Moderator
Messages
1,032
Newcastle Knights have shelved plans to replace departed senior assistant coach Anthony Seibold for next season. Seibold is set to switch codes after taking up an offer to assist England rugby coach Eddie Jones ahead of the 2023 World Cup, announcing the move just prior to the start of the NRL finals series. Brought in this year on a one-year deal, the controversial former Brisbane Broncos coach was initially hired in an advisory capacity as a sounding board for coach Adam O'Brien and as a mentor for the club's other coaches. But mid-season, his position changed somewhat with O'Brien giving him more of a hands-on role with the side's defence. Over the back-end of the season, the Knights won seven of their final 10 games off the back of more resolute defence to qualify for the finals. It's understood there were discussions around a potential replacement for Seibold with names such as Paul Green, Paul McGregor, Dean Pay and Cameron Ciraldo all tossed around. Bringing in an attack-orientated assistant was also spoken about but they are thin on the ground. Former Sharks coach and ex-Knights player John Morris would have been a consideration had he not already been appointed assistant to next year's new South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou. READ MORE: In the end, it was decided not to fill Seibold's position with the club confident their existing coaching structure under O'Brien, that includes Willie Peters, Rory Kostjasyn and Eric Smith, and new specialist halves coach Blake Green, is all that is needed. "Seibs came in at the start largely to coach our coaches, not as an assistant," CEO Phil Gardner told the Newcastle Herald. "It was made very clear to him and to everyone else that it was going to finish at the end of this year. "He did a good job with us in the time he was here but both Adam and I and Bedsy [head of football Danny Buderus] are comfortable with the coaches we currently have with the addition of Blake Green. We believe they will get us to where we want to go to next year." O'Brien said the appointment of current Penrith high performance boss Hayden Knowles will also strengthen the coaching department. "I'll use Hayden a lot more in the coaching area. He is more than just a performance coach," O'Brien said. "He does actual footy stuff too - particularly around the transition stuff between attack and defence. We'll also have Greeny there as well working throughout the club with our halves." Despite his side's attack being heavily scrutinised, O'Brien said he has full confidence in his attack coach Peters, who will benefit from having the entire spine together, fit and healthy, for the start of pre-season training in November.
 

Old dog

Juniors
Messages
2,449
Hard to believe that King was on minimum but unlikely he was on a lot more but can understand in a way his leaving for less for opportunity to play in Storms system
 

Knight Tales

Juniors
Messages
2,343
Club smart to wait. 17th club will inflate the market. Having cap room is a rare thing at present. I think we have been pretty wise without being overly flashy in our spending. Lots of clubs reported as having huge decisions to make as Bennett will come calling and get the players he needs. He always does.
 

Burwood

Bench
Messages
4,769
He signed a one-year extension mid November last year, after having played 7 games off the bench. If that doesn’t scream “minimum wage”, I don’t know what does.
 

Old dog

Juniors
Messages
2,449
Don’t have a clue what he was on or offered but does it matter, he played strong and hard, maybe lacked a little in ability but improved this year to be a regular bench player with three very good props in front of him. He may not have been as good as the SAF boys or Klem but he was certainly good back up, he was what you wanted if any of those three were out. Can’t understand the criticism or the lack of respect for a bloke that gave it his best, wish him well.
 

Yosh

Coach
Messages
11,245
Don’t have a clue what he was on or offered but does it matter, he played strong and hard, maybe lacked a little in ability but improved this year to be a regular bench player with three very good props in front of him. He may not have been as good as the SAF boys or Klem but he was certainly good back up, he was what you wanted if any of those three were out. Can’t understand the criticism or the lack of respect for a bloke that gave it his best, wish him well.

Was one of my favorite players this year. Was hard to not like his effort and enthusiasm off the bench. Was limited in what he was able to do but did what he did well.
 

Johns Magic

Referee
Messages
21,654
Ok, so no one actually knows.

My take is the same as @Alex28 . We were offering King a new contract, but he took less to go to Melbourne.

King is solid. If minimum wage gets you Josh King, then we need a couple more of him on our roster.
 

Zoidberg

First Grade
Messages
6,154
Maybe there more to it than money.
He may as well go down to Storms for a few years and learn under the best, and if he doesn’t get much game time, that’s not much worse than he was getting here.
 

Woosh

Head Moderator
Messages
1,032
Wayne Bennett will saunter into the coach's box at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow night, seemingly without a care in the world, as an NRL grand final coach for the 10th time. His record stands at seven wins and two losses in premiership deciders without even a mention of what he has done a representative level. His 10th grand final, this one at the helm of South Sydney, is his fourth with separate clubs after he also took Canberra, Brisbane and St George Illawarra to deciders. Remarkable stats that more than justify the 'Supercoach' tag. Like him or not, he is destined to go down as one of the greatest coaches in Australian sport. But how will he be remembered in Newcastle? Whether he was an abject failure as coach or not during his three-year stint at the Knights from 2012-14, largely depends on who you talk too. His critics will tell you he only came to town because of Nathan Tinkler's millions and left three years into a four year deal after the money dried up, leaving the club in a worse state than how he found it. They'll argue, with some justification, he was never the right fit for a town like Newcastle and a club like the Knights because he never seriously tried to buy into the community when he was here. That he never bought into what the club's past meant or cared about what it's future looked like. A hired gun brought in to win premierships by Tinkler, who left when it all got too hard. But others paint a completely different picture. Former player and club official Stephen Crowe points to the Knights' preliminary final appearance in 2013 as evidence Bennett's tenure was far from a disaster. "On the basis of that alone, Wayne's our most successful coach in the past 15 or so years," Crowe said. "He may not have bought into the community when he was here but you can't blame him for what's happened at the club since he left. "When the Old Boys get together and talk about the lack of success over the past decade, Wayne's name doesn't feature as a reason why." Former Knights recruitment boss Peter Mulholland says criticism of Bennett for only chasing premierships and doing nothing about junior development at the club is a fallacy. "Yes, he was brought in to win first grade comps but while he was here, he helped set up junior development programs that no-one had seen before with full-time coaching and high performance staff for the kids and he employed Graham Murray to oversee all that," Mulholland said. "Players like the Saifiti boys, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Sione [Mata'utia], Josh King, Joe Tapine - those type of players all came through then. So to say he wrecked the joint and left it in a terrible state is absolute rubbish. "And when you really analyse his results, his first year was disappointing but then he made the prelim final in 2013 when Bedsy [Danny Buderus] got KO'd against the Roosters. "Then in his final year, there was the Russell Packer stuff, Alex's [McKinnon] injury and then the demise of Tinkler - he had all that to contend with." As for players at the club coached by Bennett, Jarrod Mullen says he played the best footy of his career under the Supercoach. "Wayne was always challenging me," Mullen said. "I remember he called me into his office early in 2013 after we missed the top eight in his first year and he told me my problem was I was in a comfort zone. "That I'd been at the club for a fair while and I wasn't being challenged enough. He asked me was I was scared of and I told him I was hopeless with heights. I used to have to be sedated to get on a plane - that sort of thing. "That's when he said he wanted me to jump out of a plane - parachute out to get rid of that fear. "I thought he was joking but he wasn't and made out like I'd have to do it before he'd play me. I ended up doing it - the best and worst feeling I've ever had." Mullen had his best season in the NRL that year, finishing fourth in the Dally Ms. Surely the decision of Knights CEO Phil Gardner and coach Adam O'Brien not to beef up the coaching support staff next season by replacing departed assistant Anthony Seibold opens the door for Danny Buderus to take a hands-on role on the coaching front again. Buderus, a former assistant coach to both Rick Stone and Nathan Brown and interim NRL coach when Stone was sacked at the back-end of 2015, is the Knights' head of football. But why wouldn't the club utilise his knowledge and skill as one of the game's greatest hookers at training as well next season, even if it is only for a session or two a week. Newcastle Knights have signed the highly promising 17-year-old cousin of Penrith's Kiwi international prop James Fisher-Harris. The Knights have pinched New Zealand backrower Jayden Harris from under the noses of the Warriors and the Bulldogs, who had been close to signing him, presumably following a recommendation from Phil Gould. Gould was employed in a pathways role with the Warriors before joining the Bulldogs as general manager of football in July. Harris, who was named in the New Zealand Under 16's side last year, will join a strong Knights' S G Ball Under 19's squad for 2022.

 

Jono078

Referee
Messages
21,112
Is Jayden Harris one of the first off Zammit's hit list? He does have a good track record so hopefully this is the first of many!
 
Top