2023 Preseason thread.

An
Lefty said:
I’m excited about Pong moving to 6 and I agree it is the obvious position for him. We may need to be patient with him as he settles in there.

The big question for me now is whether the team can perform well with AOB as coach.
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d with a team who have learned to defend in the off-season; and with a fullback who can also organise the team’s defence from the back. Then maybe, we start at the same place as most of the top 8 teams in the NRL.
 
I still wonder how much the good start to the season was joeys influence if any.

I am currently reading his auto biography i cant remember which coach it was under but he said the use to have a play they used all the time where they would go all the way to one side of the field then switch and go all the way back to the other side.

He said it worked a lot and he doesnt understand why people dont use it now, he said he would be ****ting himself if he was the defensive side.

It seemed a lot like we were playing the first few games and getting results until the cronulla game in horrible conditions. Then we seemed to go back to one out football.
 
Gags not looking very fit - maybe he was just standing funny and his belly stuck out.
Chris Vea'ila looks fitter every time I see him. hard to believe he was as big as a prop and maybe 15kg overweight when playing fullback in Mathews 3 years ago. He looks like a greyhound now.
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Owey said:
Owey's daughter was pointing out today that the boys were commenting on socials about the squads being mixed around a bit so the fg right edge is coming up against the fg left edge, same for reggies on the other side of the park. Seems to be bourne out in the photos, with Hastings playing opposite Fitz and Best etc.
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But are they being thrashed on defensive drills like the Cowboys and Sharks were last off season?
We have been in the poorest 2 clubs defensively over the last several seasons. Einstein’s theory of madness is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Have the players learned anything new defensively?
I hope for the Knight’s sake they have. Their season will depend on it!
 
Easy to defend when your mind is working. 13v13 clearly means a numbers game. Bigger guys need chopping hard ala an Alf Langer or t gillz style tackle. We need a dominator and a flopper to work in unison to take advantage of the "seconds in tackle" rules. Otherwise we will concede too manly quick PTB. Easy from my armchair though haha.

I've been a fan of the hit,stick,reef that say a Cherry Evans does in a tackle but you've gotta be quick, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Muay Thai style of tackle. Erghh too much technicals for one day.
 
danknights said:
Easy to defend when your mind is working. 13v13 clearly means a numbers game. Bigger guys need chopping hard ala an Alf Langer or t gillz style tackle. We need a dominator and a flopper to work in unison to take advantage of the "seconds in tackle" rules. Otherwise we will concede too manly quick PTB. Easy from my armchair though haha.

I've been a fan of the hit,stick,reef that say a Cherry Evans does in a tackle but you've gotta be quick, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Muay Thai style of tackle. Erghh too much technicals for one day.
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Hmmm... take it math isn't yr strong point 😀
 
danknights said:
Easy to defend when your mind is working. 13v13 clearly means a numbers game. Bigger guys need chopping hard ala an Alf Langer or t gillz style tackle. We need a dominator and a flopper to work in unison to take advantage of the "seconds in tackle" rules. Otherwise we will concede too manly quick PTB. Easy from my armchair though haha.

I've been a fan of the hit,stick,reef that say a Cherry Evans does in a tackle but you've gotta be quick, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Muay Thai style of tackle. Erghh too much technicals for one day.
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You obviously know what you are talking about. You should volunteer to make a guest appearance at training to talk about defence.
 
JOJO82 said:
Reading all the above points about Ponga gets me to the conclusion that he isn't worth the money
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Ponga is absolutely worth the money, we just don't use him right and don't put quality around him.

Tedesco, he isn't playing with a bunch of tossers now is he, Melbournes big three were surrounded by class and quality.

Ponga can't be our only gun, the Knights have squandered his career so far and if he was smart he would have signed elsewhere in the last contract. Or more to the point if he cared about things like personal legacy he would.

Anyway, my thoughts on Ponga and where he should be playing are clear to anyone who has kept up with my opinions.

One thing though, if the Knights struggle to start next season, even a little wobble, the media will be out for blood both O'Brien and Ponga at 5/8, and Ponga not delivering on potential. I already have O'Brien tipped as the coach the media will be hunting straight up.
 
So the first teams of the year get named on Tuesday.
Guys who have done some training with firstgrade who could get named for SG Ball are Myles Martin, Ethan Ferguson and Fletcher Sharpe. Martin still seems to be training with the top squad, so they'll probably say that's more important than playing under 19s, but Sharpe and Ferguson should play, unless it clashes with an emerging Blues camp or something.

Jesse Southwell is eligible for Tarsha Gale, but I wouldn't pick her unless she wants to play, because it's going to be a long year for her if she plays in every grade and rep side.
 
Pretty keen to see who is in the squads. Really invested more then ever at watching our lower grades.

Mia Middleton picked up a rep game in All Starts too, hopefully once CBA is sorted likes of her can be locked in for a long period. Can see her going well in NRLW
 
Les Misérables said:
I always wonder if people really watch Ponga all that closely when he plays at club level. Because anyone who's played footy can see that Ponga isn't committed to being a fullback. He's committed to playing how he prefers to play, and that is some strange hybrid between a second receiver and a fullback, while treating defensive duties and support play without any real intent. He is a terrible fullback. Great player. But terrible fullback if we're counting all the prototypical effort areas. And he's gotten worse over time. He peaked as a fullback in his second season imo, before he figured out he didn't need do all the dirty work to be considered a superstar.
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Fair comment
 
Billy said:
Gags not looking very fit - maybe he was just standing funny and his belly stuck out.
Chris Vea'ila looks fitter every time I see him. hard to believe he was as big as a prop and maybe 15kg overweight when playing fullback in Mathews 3 years ago. He looks like a greyhound now.
dsc06186.jpg
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Gags has put away some pudding 🍮 over the off season. Hopefully burnt off by round 1.
 
For those interested, the Knights v Norths Mathews, Ball and Tarsha Gale games will be the first comp games for the new season and will be the featured games on NSWRLTV live facebook broadcasts from hills grammar school on Saturday Feb 4th.

Mathews 10am
Ball 11.30am
Tarsha Gale 1pm.

I'd imagine Tarsha Gale will be pre season favourites if Jesse Southwell is in.

The Laurie Daly under 18s and Andrew Johns under 16s games v NR Titans will be on at Cessnock at the same time - starting at 10am.
 
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Billy said:
For those interested, the Knights v Norths Mathews, Ball and Tarsha Gale games will be the first comp games for the new season and will be the featured games on NSWRLTV live facebook broadcasts from hills grammar school on Saturday Feb 4th.

Mathews 10am
Ball 11.30am
Tarsha Gale 1pm.

I'd imagine Tarsha Gale will be pre season favourites if Jesse Southwell is in.
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Well pumped. Cheers Billy
 
Billy said:
For those interested, the Knights v Norths Mathews, Ball and Tarsha Gale games will be the first comp games for the new season and will be the featured games on NSWRLTV live facebook broadcasts from hills grammar school on Saturday Feb 4th.

Mathews 10am
Ball 11.30am
Tarsha Gale 1pm.

I'd imagine Tarsha Gale will be pre season favourites if Jesse Southwell is in.

The Laurie Daly under 18s and Andrew Johns under 16s games v NR Titans will be on at Cessnock at the same time - starting at 10am.
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Who knows, maybe the club will finally get around to announcing junior squads seeing as though there comp starts this week, but will be surprised if they even get their team list for the games out
 
knights80 said:
Who knows, maybe the club will finally get around to announcing junior squads seeing as though there comp starts this week, but will be surprised if they even get their team list for the games out
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Well teams are all announced on Tuesday @ 4pm. Dare say knights will tag along haha. I f in doubt for League unlimited on twitter, wonderful coverage on all games and team announcements from 16's to 1st
 
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