2026 Recruitment And Retention

• Kalyn Ponga
• Dom Young
• Fletcher Sharpe
• Bradman Best
• Greg Marzhew/Dane Gagai
• Dylan Brown
• Sandon Smith
• Jacob Saifiti
• Phoenix Crossland
• Cody Hopwood (hopefully early/mid season onwards)
• Dylan Lucas
• McEwan
• Mooney

 Bench
• Matthew Arthur
• Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana
• Harrison Graham
• Brodie Jones

• Connor Votano 18th man
 
My Round 1 Side - with explanation:
1. Ponga
2. Marzhew - left
3. Best - left
4. Gagai
5. Young
6. Brown
7. Sharpe (or switched with Brown)
8. J Saifiti
9. Smith
10. Mooney
11. Lucas - left
12. McEwen
13. Crossland

14. Arthur/Graham - 20-30 minute role I think this will rely on who has the better pre-season plus load management for both players being their first full season in the NRL.
15. Frizell - Replace Mooney to make sure we have one mobile hard working middle on at all times. (Croker/Jones if injuries occur).
16. Saulo/Hola - Just an older big body to replace Saf for 25-35 mins, could be alternated between both players throughout the season.
17. Hopwood/ESL/Crouch/Manuleleau/Cant/Jones/Croker - I think this last spot should be alternated week in week out accordingly with who we are playing/form/injuries/etc...

Players not included are:
Kepaoa, Gamble, Hunt, Votano, De Courcey, Schiller, Sullivan, McCarthy, Annan & Hunter. - Plenty of chances for these guys throughout the season.
 
Junior said:
I'd much rather him than Saf and there's only 100k difference, clean swap please and thanks.
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What you mean by clean swap? Jacob wouldn’t be anywhere near 850k. Surprised to see so many on here rating JFH’s season. Must be similar on the Bulldogs forum hyping up Leo’s year.
 
As for the team I want to see for round 1 next year.

1. Ponga
2. Young
3. Gagai
4. Best
5. Marzhew
6. Sharpe
7. Brown
8. J Safiti
9. Smith
10. Saulo
11. Lucas
12. McEwen
13. Gamble

14. Crossland
15. Frizell
16. Mooney
17. Hopwood

18. Manuleleua
 
Oliver said:
What you mean by clean swap? Jacob wouldn’t be anywhere near 850k. Surprised to see so many on here rating JFH’s season. Must be similar on the Bulldogs forum hyping up Leo’s year.
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reportedly on 700k a year sorry... still pretty close to 850, I was thinking of Daniel who is in the 800's... Still rather pay JFH 950 than either say on their wage, I think you're understating his influence off the field which can't have a price put on it. some of the young forwards there have improved out of sight which lines up with his signing but hey lets just assume things
 
The team I would like to see would be:
1- Ponga
2- Schiller/Marzchew/Kepaoa
3- Best
4- Gagai
5- Young
6- Sharpe
7- Brown
8- J saf
9- Smith
10- Mooney
11- Lucas
12- Mcewen
13- Crossland

14 - Hopwood/Kepaoa/Cant/Elijah
15- Frizell
16- Crouch/Croker
17- Manuleleua

I would hope Sandon can go the 80. Especially given he's a decent goal kicker. If needed could use crossland as hooker sub and give some shorter minutes to someone like Manuleleua at 13 who's a big unit with great ball skills.
 
Ok, I know the coach picks the team on Tuesdays. But we pick our coach next week. I feel confident that part of the interview process will include talking to the coach about playing a "Melbourne" style of attack with a planned spine of 1. Ponga 6. Sharpe 7. Brown 9. Smith. For those who want to see Smith in the halves, don't fret. I'm guessing any injury to the other three and he slots back in to the halves. Sharpe to cover Ponga. It sounds like a big disruption to the spine but i think part of the Smith plan is to have a like for like halves replacement and choose another serviceable hooker if the need arrives, allowing for minimal change in game plan. Smith will still play a majority of his games in the halves. I believe this is how it has been sold to him and how it will be explained to a new coach. Little point POS recruiting like he has if the new coach wants an organising half.
 
Owey said:
Ok, I know the coach picks the team on Tuesdays. But we pick our coach next week. I feel confident that part of the interview process will include talking to the coach about playing a "Melbourne" style of attack with a planned spine of 1. Ponga 6. Sharpe 7. Brown 9. Smith. For those who want to see Smith in the halves, don't fret. I'm guessing any injury to the other three and he slots back in to the halves. Sharpe to cover Ponga. It sounds like a big disruption to the spine but i think part of the Smith plan is to have a like for like halves replacement and choose another serviceable hooker if the need arrives, allowing for minimal change in game plan. Smith will still play a majority of his games in the halves. I believe this is how it has been sold to him and how it will be explained to a new coach. Little point POS recruiting like he has if the new coach wants an organising half.
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If it fails (highly likely) will they dump the plan or dump the coach? Seems unfair to dump the coach considering it wouldn’t even be his plan that someone said and might not work.

This is the problem with the Knights, they’re trying to be like someone else and not like the Knights, it creates a distance from what we were once for the dream we could be like the Storm when we never were even in the good old days.

How about instead of poaching some other team’s identity and style we go back to ours
 
But why should we look to copy someone else? And how will we copy Melbourne if we don't have anyone who's like the most important player to that team? (Harry Grant)

What I hope is when they interview these candidates, they go in with an open mind and allow themselves to be convinced. The last thing I want is for them to go in with a pre-determined idea of what they want to hear. And I'm personally not convinced that the correct answer to "how do we get the best out of Dylan Brown, Kalyn Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe" is "try to turn each of them into something else we've seen look good elsewhere".

The teams that have had great seasons in recent years while we stagnated, Canberra, Brisbane, Cronulla, Roosters, didn't copy anyone else's homework. They had the confidence to forge their own identity.
 
KPGreatness said:
If it fails (highly likely) will they dump the plan or dump the coach? Seems unfair to dump the coach considering it wouldn’t even be his plan that someone said and might not work.

This is the problem with the Knights, they’re trying to be like someone else and not like the Knights, it creates a distance from what we were once for the dream we could be like the Storm when we never were even in the good old days.

How about instead of poaching some other team’s identity and style we go back to ours
Click to expand...
JINX!
 
Gonna look at an example of another **** team who dropped what plenty regard as a massive overpay on a top five-eighth. The Tigers.

Came into this season with the mission statement of him developing into an "alpha" halfback along the lines of Nathan Cleary. By round 19 they came to the conclusion that the guy who's a natural five-eighth will probably play better footy at five-eighth, asking a more natural 7 (Fainu or even Doueihi) to bring him onto the ball more in wider positions, rather than the other way around. When they do that, he starts playing better, and they record their best win of the season (over the Dogs) pretty soon after.

Luai this season:

At halfback: 12 games, 4 try assists, 0 tries, 0 line breaks, 5 forced drop outs, 83.67 average run metres, 288.67 average kick metres, 15 tackle breaks (1.25 per game).

At five-eighth: 9 games, 8 try assists, 1 try, 1 line break, 6 forced drop outs, 88.44 average run metres, 244.67 average kick metres, 19 tackle breaks (2.11 per game).

I'm a certified Luai hater, I think he's the most overrated player of the NRL era at this point, but nonetheless I think they can feel a lot more optimism about their future with him solidified as their 6 going forward, and Latu Fainu growing into that 7 jersey alongside him. Luai is absolutely still the dominant playmaker in that team, it's just that it's in a role that suits him more.

I don't want to burn 3/4 of a season waiting to come to the same realisation with Dylan Brown.
 
Man, this is so hard sometimes...

The club desperately needs to define it's own style. We hired the best reputed recruitment guy in the industry in POS. He obviously has a strong idea on how we should play. He has recruited to that end. That's his job. It is a role closer to the Director of Football of a European football club or GM of an nfl team. Clubs need an identity. The GM usually outlasts several coaches and will hire coaches who fit the identity they are trying to create. POS is defining an identity for this club. We should all be glad about that.

I put "Melbourne" system in quotes for a reason. I thought everyone would understand that we have chosen run first halves and will be defined by that. The closest example is Melbourne. I don't think for a second we will try to take on Melbourne's DNA. We will end up doing it our way. But isn't the blueprint clear?

How it plays out could be completely different. Tweaks can be made within this overall formula. Someone might be injured and the team goes to a new level without them. Someone might find career best form in a position they weren't bought in to play. It is still the coaches prerogative to play how he sees fit. It should be a comfort to everyone that there is a grown up in the room at least defining a style for us. POS isn't locked in to the style I described above either. He signed the best talent available in Brown at the time and that has given us a defined style. He was chasing Pezet, which would have led us to a different style. But with the talent we have next year, the coach needs to buy in to a running halves mentality.
 
Oh and what is the defined style with Luai? Toss him in to a completely different role and watch him take the team to another level?
 
Well they have Luai making heaps of money instead of Brooks now, so the style will be them reclaiming their destiny and climbing back to 9th.
 
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