rhugh89
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
From Alex McKinnon to Nathan Tinkler, The Knights NRL 2014 season was full of heartbreak
THANK heavens for the Sharks.
Newcastle fans are likely thinking as much after Cronulla’s tumultuous 2014 at least took some of the heat off a Knights campaign that now appears like it was cursed from the moment new recruit Russell Packer was sent to jail for assault before a ball was kicked.
The Packer incident, which impacted on the Knights both on and off the field, was bad enough in isolation.
But it proved just the tip of the iceberg for a club mired in controversy and heartbreak for much of the season until a late winning surge after their bid for finals footy was already over at least left fans with a glimmer of hope for the future.
On the Richter scale of incidents, the Packer jailing was trumped by the tragic injury that left devastated backrower Alex McKinnon in a wheelchair and the drawn out and painful demise of controversial club owner Nathan Tinkler.
And there were other spot fires to contend with along the way.
The club sacked prop Zane Tetevano mid-season following assault allegations, coach Wayne Bennett announced he was quitting to head back to the Broncos, troubled fullback Darius Boyd admitted himself into a mental health clinic for treatment and key forwards Jeremy Smith and Kade Snowden were caught up in the ASADA saga that ultimately saw them suspended for the final few games of the season.
It’s debatable what effect Tinkler’s three-year ownership reign coming to an end had on the players.
But what can’t be denied is the impact and aftershocks felt following McKinnon’s tragic round 3 injury against Melbourne.
A 30-0 flogging of the Sharks a week later proved an aberration as the long term prospects for McKinnon began to sink in mentally with the squad.
A run of seven straight losses from round seven to round 14 reflected that and it was where their season was ultimately lost.
Eight wins from their final 11 games saw them finish 12th and provided some light at the end of the tunnel for incoming coach Rick Stone to build on.
Tough backrower Beau Scott was the standout performer but the real positives for the club were the emergence of young stars like Sione and Chanel Mata’utia, Jake Mamo, Joseph Tapine and Patrick Vaivai, who all made their top-grade debuts.
A lasting memory of 2014 will surely be the highly emotion-charged scenes of McKinnon’s homecoming at Hunter Stadium during the RiseForAlex round that no one who was at the ground that day will ever forget.
FIVE BIG MOMENTS
* Russell Packer jailing
* Alex McKinnon injury
* RiseForAlex emotional home-coming
* Owner Nathan Tinkler’s demise
* Wayne Bennett quits
THE SICK BAY
James McManus:
Had foot surgery after an injury cut his 2014 season short.
He will be in limited training when training commences at the start of November and is expected to return to full training by December.
Akuila Uate:
Had knee surgery at the end of the season.
He will commence limited training after Christmas and is expected to be back to full training by February.
GAINS
Tariq Sims (Cowboys) Carlos Tuimavave (Warriors)
LOSSES
Josh Mantellato (Hull KR); Michael Dobson (Salford); Adam Cuthbertson (Leeds); Willie Mason (unsure); Anthony Quinn (retired); Matt Hilder (retired); Timana Tahu (unsure); Matt Minto (unsure); Travis Waddell (unsure)
Pre-season return: November 3
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ll-of-heartbrake/story-fni3gf5j-1227089060710
- BARRY TOOHEY
- THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
- OCTOBER 14, 2014 12:00AM
THANK heavens for the Sharks.
Newcastle fans are likely thinking as much after Cronulla’s tumultuous 2014 at least took some of the heat off a Knights campaign that now appears like it was cursed from the moment new recruit Russell Packer was sent to jail for assault before a ball was kicked.
The Packer incident, which impacted on the Knights both on and off the field, was bad enough in isolation.
But it proved just the tip of the iceberg for a club mired in controversy and heartbreak for much of the season until a late winning surge after their bid for finals footy was already over at least left fans with a glimmer of hope for the future.
On the Richter scale of incidents, the Packer jailing was trumped by the tragic injury that left devastated backrower Alex McKinnon in a wheelchair and the drawn out and painful demise of controversial club owner Nathan Tinkler.
And there were other spot fires to contend with along the way.
The club sacked prop Zane Tetevano mid-season following assault allegations, coach Wayne Bennett announced he was quitting to head back to the Broncos, troubled fullback Darius Boyd admitted himself into a mental health clinic for treatment and key forwards Jeremy Smith and Kade Snowden were caught up in the ASADA saga that ultimately saw them suspended for the final few games of the season.
It’s debatable what effect Tinkler’s three-year ownership reign coming to an end had on the players.
But what can’t be denied is the impact and aftershocks felt following McKinnon’s tragic round 3 injury against Melbourne.
A 30-0 flogging of the Sharks a week later proved an aberration as the long term prospects for McKinnon began to sink in mentally with the squad.
A run of seven straight losses from round seven to round 14 reflected that and it was where their season was ultimately lost.
Eight wins from their final 11 games saw them finish 12th and provided some light at the end of the tunnel for incoming coach Rick Stone to build on.
Tough backrower Beau Scott was the standout performer but the real positives for the club were the emergence of young stars like Sione and Chanel Mata’utia, Jake Mamo, Joseph Tapine and Patrick Vaivai, who all made their top-grade debuts.
A lasting memory of 2014 will surely be the highly emotion-charged scenes of McKinnon’s homecoming at Hunter Stadium during the RiseForAlex round that no one who was at the ground that day will ever forget.
FIVE BIG MOMENTS
* Russell Packer jailing
* Alex McKinnon injury
* RiseForAlex emotional home-coming
* Owner Nathan Tinkler’s demise
* Wayne Bennett quits
THE SICK BAY
James McManus:
Had foot surgery after an injury cut his 2014 season short.
He will be in limited training when training commences at the start of November and is expected to return to full training by December.
Akuila Uate:
Had knee surgery at the end of the season.
He will commence limited training after Christmas and is expected to be back to full training by February.
GAINS
Tariq Sims (Cowboys) Carlos Tuimavave (Warriors)
LOSSES
Josh Mantellato (Hull KR); Michael Dobson (Salford); Adam Cuthbertson (Leeds); Willie Mason (unsure); Anthony Quinn (retired); Matt Hilder (retired); Timana Tahu (unsure); Matt Minto (unsure); Travis Waddell (unsure)
Pre-season return: November 3
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ll-of-heartbrake/story-fni3gf5j-1227089060710
