The knights big prospects

[Bring it home Knights]

I was just wondering who you guys think will be the next big names playing for the knights.

We've produced great players like Johns, Harragon etc.

Who do you think will be the next greats that play for our great club?

I believe Perry will be a superstar in the making. He really started showing what he was capable of on a week to week basis towards the end of last year. He's starting to remind me of Harragon a bit. He makes good meters, but he can lift the team from his aggression thanks to big hits and passionate runs when needed.

Kurt Gidley when finaly given a decent go in the halves showed he is capable of being a game breaker. His development was probably slowed a bit by the ammount of chopping and changing he was made to do, by playing centre, fullback, bench. But hopefully we'll see his real talents by him playing in his correct position of 5/8 this year.

Even though he's been around for a few years now. Tahu is still only in his early 20's. He's shown he is capable of doing some brillient things out on the field. What he lacks IMO is consistancy. When he matures more as a footballer, he will hopefully become one of newcastles great outside backs.

Steve Simpsons form wasn't great in the back half of last year, Injuries played a large role towards this, as it did for most of the knights forwards and obviously the form of the team. He like Tahu is only in his early 20's. So he can only improve with more experience and size. He's always been a good meters gainer, but last year he showed he has great speed and he's always got a very low mistake rate. Simpson IMO will be one day known as one of newcastles best ever back rowers.

 

[Princess]

Abes, i think he will go far!

 

[antonius]

I think if Perry can control himself a little better he will be a consistant performer for a few years to come.Weather he will be classed in the same catorgory as Harrigon/Johns Bedsey and co I'm not sure. I think it's more likely that Ennis, or Snowden will emerge as the players that have just that little bit more than average. Estatheo is another who showed tremendous promise but seems injury prone, if he could stay off the doctors list I think he would be up there also. But really looking through the team I think we are marking time a bit at the moment, don't get me wrong we have players like Tilse, Wallace, Young etc. But comparing our stocks now with the past few years, we are in a bit of a state of limbo IMO. I think we have lost quite a few good prospects through poor player retention decisions, I hope we've learnt from that.

 

[Princess]

Abes, i think he will go far!

 

[northey]

Josh Perry is gunna be a STAR!!!!!
that guy has so much to offer the NRL

 

[~bedsy~]

Abes, i think he will go far!

Yeah I agree with that... he has shown himself as a great player and will only get better... I would love to see him play some more rep footy again next year as well.
I agree that Perry has improved a heap over last season and if he smartens himself up it will be great to see... Also I think Kurt could become a great player as well if he keeps on getting trained by Joey.

 

[misty]

Kurt will be a SUPER SUPER STAR one day.....remember you heard it from me first

Perry will be huge as will Danial-son and Johnny Morris.

 

[roopy]

Danny Buderus is our next superstar.

He was again just about the best in the test the other day without anyone really noticing.

He does his job so well and so seamlessly that he is just a fixture and nobody seems to take any notice, but if you look back at game after game he is in everything and is the lynchpin in most thing that happen in both defence and attack.

Johns would never have reached the heights he has without Buderus giving him the best service in the game for years, and everytime Kimmorley has had the chance to play with Buderus he has produced five star games.

We finally got our halfback problem solved by leaving Danny to do what he does best and giving him a half decent playmaker to set up in Kurt Gidley.

Buderus is the best player in the world at the moment, just no one realises it yet. Johns redefined the role of the halfback, and Buderus is now doing the same for the role of hooker.

He has been the consistantly best rep player in the world for the last 18 months.

 

[antonius]

Can't argue with you there Roopy, Buderus IS a superstar, I think BIHK was asking about guys who haven't quite made it yet.

 

[socksie]

it's hard to nominate one as showing huge potential. i think josh perry, daniel abraham and kurt gidley have all improved tremendously over the last season

perry makes good metres and literally tramples all over the defence. he has gained immense confidence (add to that his selection in the blues team and country team) and when he's high on confidence he believes he can do anything (re: paul rauhihi). the only problem i have with josh is the number of penalties he concedes. i'd guess that he concedes more penalties than any other first-grade knights player and thats the aspect of his game i think needs to change

daniel abraham. this guy was very good around early-mid season. he took many difficult balls, he made many line breaks and was much more of a player than he ended the season on. dont get me wrong - he's a great player and played every game and played well. but i just feel when the knights started going downhill (SOO period) his form did as well. perhaps he lacked the confidence without johns and bedsy. i think the more experience he has and the more confidence he receives, the better player he will be

kurt gidley's form was incredible towards the end of the season. i've always thought he was a player with huge talent and was frustrated that he was moved from centre to fullback to 5/8 to half, along with his ankle injury near the beginning of the year. i think he's been threatening the likes of johns and rudder for a while but was never given the opportunity til this year. i'm glad hages put rudder on the bench and started with kidley at 5/8 for a coupla games last year. it showed kidley he had confidence in him and encouraged rudder to pick up his game. i personally think kidley is a better 5/8 than rudder is and i hope he will be playing in the halves more permanently next yr than he did this year. again i think his problem is confidence. he hasnt yet established himself as a great player to a majority of RL fans and i feel he's always been in the shadow of joey and cant get out of that. when he was truly able to display his skills and talent in the last 5 games of the year, he really shone. in some aspects i think he is better than joey: his kick-chase game is a tremendous advantage as he always puts all his chasers onside; he makes more tackles than joey does (usually); he concedes less penalties than joey. on the other hand, his goal-kicking needs improvement as do his kicks for touch. if he could become more of a leader next year instead of giving all the balls to joey to kick i think he'll prove himself as a great player.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

I don't get this whole friggen discussion. These "next big things" have all either played for Australia, NSW or been in first grade for more than 3 seasons now. No-one is really going out on a limb here at all, we've seen what they're all capable of.

I guess its just lucky for Kids he's got no-one else in front of him next year... or does he?

 

[roopy]

I don't get this whole friggen discussion. These "next big things" have all either played for Australia, NSW or been in first grade for more than 3 seasons now. No-one is really going out on a limb here at all, we've seen what they're all capable of.

I guess its just lucky for Kids he's got no-one else in front of him next year... or does he?

OK, I'll go out on a limb. Chad Solman will come from the clouds this year and make firstgrade as a centre or even 5/8.
Solman and Tahu will become our next great partnership, replacing Gidley and Tahu on the right side of the field.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

Solman! There's a limb.

I'm still on the Snowden limb. But I'll be happy with some youth in the backline. What are the odds of some prodigy players for the Knights in the next 24 months?

 

[roopy]

Solman! There's a limb.

I'm still on the Snowden limb. But I'll be happy with some youth in the backline. What are the odds of some prodigy players for the Knights in the next 24 months?

100% chance - we have someone new every year.

I'm thinking Tredrea, Andriessen, Wooden, Abel, Ison or Tim Walker will impress this year - or someone else - which is the beauty of going to the early season juniors games - you never know what talent will be on show.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

It all depends on injuries, but I'm guessing we'll bring one of the newly signed players on in the backs. Probably fullback, or maybe 5/8 if Kurt doesn't fit in there and move him to fullback.

I'm still not convinced Kade couldn't be given at least some training runs (18th man) with the first grade squad during the SOO weeks.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I don't get this whole friggen discussion. These "next big things" have all either played for Australia, NSW or been in first grade for more than 3 seasons now. No-one is really going out on a limb here at all, we've seen what they're all capable of.

The discussion is about what players will be known one day as greats for newcastle. For example Perry and Gidley atm aren't seen as greats for newcastle. But IMO one day they will be considered as greats. It's pretty basic.

 

[antonius]

I'm sticking with Ennis and Snowden.

Kidley IMO still has to find his Niche so to speak, the potential is there, and he shows glimpses of brilliance. What seperates the Greats from the average is producing on a regular basis week in week out, Perry has had some good games, but as of this moment, they are equally split with some ordinary ones, it's been said over and over he needs discipline, if he finds that this year then yes he could become one of our greats, if not then he'll be another run of the mill prop, he's had a couple of years in first grade now, it's time to produce EVERY week.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I'm sticking with Ennis and Snowden.

Kidley IMO still has to find his Niche so to speak, the potential is there, and he shows glimpses of brilliance. What seperates the Greats from the average is producing on a regular basis week in week out, Perry has had some good games, but as of this moment, they are equally split with some ordinary ones, it's been said over and over he needs discipline, if he finds that this year then yes he could become one of our greats, if not then he'll be another run of the mill prop, he's had a couple of years in first grade now, it's time to produce EVERY week.

I have to admit that in the back half of last year, Perry's form was out of sight. He was performing every week IMO. Let's just hope that wasn't a purple patch and lets hope that is the Josh Perry we will have in 2004 and beyond.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

The topic for young usually is about how he has portential. He's 18 and plays fullback. Grogans in his 30's, hasn't played a game for the knights in about 4 years and played centre/wing, he played reserve grade on and off throughout his entire career.

I can't say they have a big enough similarity to continually compare the two.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

I compared their try scoring ability. As backs, that's pretty important. BTW, Young does play on the wing quite a bit. He fell over the line for a consolation try against the Jets in the last game of the year.

But like you said, who cares. Niether plays for the Knights first graders. At least one can say he has.