O'Donnell a gamble for Knights
ROBERT DILLON
12 Jul, 2010 04:00 AM
HE could be an inspirational, Ben Kennedy-style enforcer who gives Newcastle Knights a much-needed injection of mongrel and intimidation.
Or he could be one of the most highly paid spectators at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
That is the gamble the Knights appear intent on taking after tabling a three-year contract offer to volatile North Queensland, NSW and Australian forward Luke O'Donnell last week.
As the Newcastle Herald revealed on June 19, the Knights are interested in uniting O'Donnell and his younger brother, Sharks under-20s back-rower Kyle, in Newcastle next season.
Kyle, who scored the match-winning try for Cronulla in yesterday's 14-12 National Youth Cup victory against his future club, has signed a two-year deal with Newcastle.
Knights management are waiting for an answer on whether Luke will be joining him, and could have it as early as this week.
The elder O'Donnell sibling is a formidable player, with and without the ball.
The prospect of him pairing up with Dragons star Neville Costigan, who has signed with Newcastle for the next three years, would give the Knights a back row capable of roughing up any team.
But there is a flip side to O'Donnell's aggressive playing style, and that is his horrendous judiciary record.
Since his NRL debut in 1999 he has spent 29 weeks - more than a full season - on the sidelines through suspension.
Cooling his heels since Origin II after a three-week ban for spear-tackling Queensland winger Darius Boyd, he has missed more games because of foul play than any current player.
And any club that wants to sign O'Donnell has to weigh up that risk, because chances are he is unlikely to change his ways this late in his career.
Knights coach Rick Stone appears to have evaluated O'Donnell's pros and cons and decided recruiting him is a risk worth taking.
Asked by the Newcastle Herald three weeks ago whether O'Donnell's disciplinary record was a factor the Knights would need to consider, Stone replied, "It probably is. If you're going to pay big bucks, injuries and judiciary are obviously a couple of key areas you're looking at."
Yesterday the coach was quoted as saying he thinks O'Donnell "gets a bad rap" regarding his judiciary record and could be "exactly what we need" to add some starch to Newcastle's pack.
"You just have to accept that he is going to run the gauntlet a little bit at times, but I don't see it as any real concern at all," Stone said.
Waiting in the background to see how the O'Donnell negotiations unfold is Knights stalwart Steve Simpson, who is hoping to return in the next few weeks from recent knee surgery.
Simpson expressed a desire in April to continue playing next year, but Knights officials have indicated they want to defer any decision until he is back on the field, which is fair enough.
By then they may have added Costigan and O'Donnell to a back-row rotation that includes Zeb Taia, Cory Paterson, Matt Hilder and Constantine Mika.
There is a chance Simpson could fill a role for Newcastle next year by moving to the front row on a regular basis, especially if Ben Cross heads to England, as appears likely.
But if Knights management are concerned about (a) Simpson's age and (b) his ability to stay on the park, then it seems ironic that O'Donnell shapes as a possible replacement.
Simpson is 13 months older than O'Donnell, who will be 30 by the time next season kicks off.
Over the past five years Simpson has played in 77 games, while O'Donnell has played in 60.
Since they debuted within three months of each other in 1999, Simpson has appeared in 216 NRL games, O'Donnell in 163.
Regardless of whether a player is unavailable because of injury or suspension, it is just as costly for his club.
With O'Donnell, what you see is what you get.
He might cost a not-so-small fortune, but there will be no money-back guarantee.
