Rumoured Targets 3

[Yosh]

As hard as it is to argue against that obvious top 4 spine featuring 2 unproven halves (one who doesn't play for the Knights, one who might not either in 2026 unless he significantly improves), having the incumbent NZ hooker on your bench and u/19 Blues hooker behind him in reserve grade illustrates why I don't think hooker is the area of the spine they'll be looking to throw big money at.

Okay. So which position you wanna throw your money at? We are going to have ample funds available in 2026. Which player you wanna throw it at then?

 

[Knight Tales]

Bevan French is a player whose evolution into a top class half has been unforseen by anyone. With the exception of his coach Matt Peet. Wigan are a delight to watch in top gear. French was meant to come here as a winger for depth. How quickly things can change. It is a Bellamy like adaptation of a player to new position. I have said it in here before. Matt Peet should be a target to possibly coach here. He is very impressive and humble. You can see he knows this game inside out.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

French was fullback and 5/8 coming through the grades so it's not that big a stretch he was able to become a good ESL half

Unfortunately the game over there is very different, especially defencively so I wouldn't be so confident of him replicating that form in the NRL

 

[HarVeeGee]

No spending big money on a hooker unless it’s a genuinely elite attacking 9 like Harry Grant or Api. Robson is a fine player but simply would not help us that much.

Phoenix is not a great hooker, but he’s not a bad one, which is important to note here. Because the most common type of bad hooker is a mid one who thinks himself elite and overplays his hand. Go and watch New Zealand’s comeback against Tonga a few weeks back and note how all their momentum stalls the moment Kodi Nikorima comes on to replace Phoenix.

Phoenix is unselfish and gets the ball where it needs to go. We have a young prospect playing behind him with elite potential. We’re good. It’s not a weakness in the roster. Focus on finding big upgrades to our weaknesses, not comparatively small upgrades to our strengths.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

I agree that Phoenix isn’t a bad hooker, I’d say his fitness, line speed and contact in defence is one of his main attributes and is better than a lot of hookers out there. Problem is that he rarely runs the ball and I actually think he can be pretty dangerous out of dummy half when the opportunity is there. The side effect of this is that the markers and middle defenders aren’t being held accountable.

Brailey is a better distributor than Crossland but he runs the ball even less and doesn’t have much speed off the mark either. When did Brailey last make a linebreak? Would have to be a couple of seasons ago I would think.

Robson on the other hand always takes the opportunity to slingshot out of dummy half when a quick PTB happens and is so dangerous when the cowboys get rolling. If he was available I’d be hoping that POS would be wanting to talk to him.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

The other thing to keep in mind is that Phoenix is a former half and has a kicking game. If we’re going to shed Brailey and rely on Phoenix as our main no.9 then we need to utilise his kicking game a bit more. Having a dummy half who can kick is an asset that we haven’t had for a long time and would give us an extra dimension in attack.

 

[Yosh]

The other thing to keep in mind is that Phoenix is a former half and has a kicking game. If we’re going to shed Brailey and rely on Phoenix as our main no.9 then we need to utilise his kicking game a bit more. Having a dummy half who can kick is an asset that we haven’t had for a long time and would give us an extra dimension in attack.

Crossland's is pretty subpar..

Can't believe people don't want Robson. He is class. He is a great hooker and can cover 13 as well.

Also, if Brandon Smith is released by the Roosters, do we want to take a look at him? Another great option for 9 or 13. I'd hate to pay big bucks for him though.

 

[Knight Tales]

Cam McInnes is OC and I think we would suit AOB’s style to the ground.

 

[TooheysNew]

If we signed Smith I'd find it almost impossible to watch Knights games.

The guy is an unfunny, tryhard narcissist.

 

[mozza91]

Thought Brailey started to look like his old self over the last 6 weeks of the comp this year. I’m happy for a Brailey/Crossland rotation. We need a quality half not a hooker.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Thought Brailey started to look like his old self over the last 6 weeks of the comp this year. I’m happy for a Brailey/Crossland rotation. We need a quality half not a hooker.

Agreed.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Problem is Brailey’s injury history… I wouldn’t want to rely on him.

 

[Knight Tales]

If Brails can have an injury free season and perform at his best, then we can surely look at the halves as the priority for spending. In addition a Will Pryce breakout year would be even better. Then we can offer Jonah money he will struggle to knock back. And that is the reality. We will have to spend up to land him or anyone of quality.

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

Need real halves before anything else. It's been said and will be said again because the reality is we're not winning sh*t until we have them.

Players like Crossland and Brailey would look like legends with proper halves. As would 80% of the side. How we've gotten by with Hastings/Cogger and co is beyond me.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

We can't offer anyone good money while we have Hastings still on the books

 

[mozza91]

It’s been asked before but is there any chance Hastings adjusts his attitude and goes back to being our best option at halfback?

 

[Nuke]

I don't think attitude is the biggest hurdle here. It's his body giving in and just can't do what it was doing even just over a year ago.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

It’s been asked before but is there any chance Hastings adjusts his attitude and goes back to being our best option at halfback?

He has his first child due in a few months so I'm sure (hopefully) that will mature him quite a bit. As mentioned above though, it's his previous injuries that will be his biggest letdown unfortunately.