Knights Injury and Suspension Updates

Lucas injury can be a blessing, season gone no top 8 chance, let’s play some of our potentials but who do we drop.
Lucas out, KPP going, time to look at 2nd row replacements, please not Frizell if he resigns it’s prop.
Let’s go with others such as McEwen, Manuleleua, even Jones and Croker.
 
Has anyone heard or seen anything about how Sharpe is going?
In AOBs presser yesterday he said Elliott might play again this season but doesn’t want to put pressure on him to get back to playing and just get his injury right. Followed by a question about Sharpe, he just said no so his gone for the year based off that. Then just spoke about how Lucas and Ponga are working through their rehab but gone for the year.
 
Lucas still walking around in a moon boot this week, I didn't see Ponga on the field this week. Might have been in the coaches box, but he was still on crutches the last home game.
Ponga is in NZ currently. He posted about on social media that he was there the other day.
 
Just thought I'd post this here. I was checking the current NRL casualty ward. https://www.nrl.com/casualty-ward/?competition=111
And if you look at the sides that are going well compared to the sides that aren't, there is a big difference in the number of injured players. Souths have had by far the most injuries all season. Teams like the Dogs and Canberra have had minimal injuries this season.

I really do think it makes a huge difference to a team's season if they can keep most of the top squad on the field. Unfortunately, the Knights have been one of those teams. Most of our starting forward pack out for a good chunk of the first half of the year. And then 3 to 4 of our best attacking players in the second half. So, I can't completely blame AOB for the poor season. Hell, Souths have Wayne Bennet, and look where they are.

So I still think AOB should go, but just saying it would be tough for any coach and team if they have a lot of injuries though the course of the year. And it's so common in the game now that teams lose a lot of players through injury. Don't know if its the six again, speed, but it can make the playing field uneven if the best players are not playing. Don't know if it's something the NRL can look at. Maybe give a bit more leniency (time) in the ruck? Just slow the game down a bit.
 
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Just thought I'd post this here. I was checking the current NRL casualty ward. https://www.nrl.com/casualty-ward/?competition=111
And if you look at the sides that are going well compared to the sides that aren't, there is a big difference in the number of injured players. Souths have had by far the most injuries all season. Teams like the Dogs and Canberra have had minimal injuries this season.

I really do think it makes a huge difference to a team's season if they can keep most of the top squad on the field. Unfortunately, the Knights have been one of those teams. Most of our starting forward pack out for a good chunk of the first half of the year. And then 3 to 4 of our best attacking players in the second half. So, I can't completely blame AOB for the poor season. Hell, Souths have Wayne Bennet, and look where they are.

So I still think AOB should go, but just saying it would be tough for any coach and team if they have a lot of injuries though the course of the year. And it's so common in the game now that teams lose a lot of players through injury. Don't know if its the six again, speed, but it can make the playing field uneven if the best players are not playing. Don't know if it's something the NRL can look at. Maybe give a bit more leniency (time) in the ruck? Just slow the game down a bit.
It to be too blunt, but obviously?

The only season I think O’Brien had a healthy squad and healthy playmakers was 2023 and we know how that season went. I think we used max 26 players, it’s a massive help to cohesion. KP just happened to come back into the squad at the right time and assisted with a very confident team.

2024 was close to the same but had poorer performing halves and the rise of Armstrong and especially Sharpe to come in and prove a big strike in attack and defence to be fair. He was quite exceptional in D on the wing, that continued in halves as well. Exceptional player.

O’Brien can do better with a good squad, that frustrates me, and probably would have gone alright at tale end of this year with either KP or Sharpe playing. With both out though it’s too much strike out of the squad.
 
It to be too blunt, but obviously?

The only season I think O’Brien had a healthy squad and healthy playmakers was 2023 and we know how that season went. I think we used max 26 players, it’s a massive help to cohesion. KP just happened to come back into the squad at the right time and assisted with a very confident team.
weren’t we trash in 2023 looking at missing the finals than suddenly KP decided he felt like playing and grabbed like 20 try assists in his last ten games.
 
Just thought I'd post this here. I was checking the current NRL casualty ward. https://www.nrl.com/casualty-ward/?competition=111
And if you look at the sides that are going well compared to the sides that aren't, there is a big difference in the number of injured players. Souths have had by far the most injuries all season. Teams like the Dogs and Canberra have had minimal injuries this season.

I really do think it makes a huge difference to a team's season if they can keep most of the top squad on the field. Unfortunately, the Knights have been one of those teams. Most of our starting forward pack out for a good chunk of the first half of the year. And then 3 to 4 of our best attacking players in the second half. So, I can't completely blame AOB for the poor season. Hell, Souths have Wayne Bennet, and look where they are.

So I still think AOB should go, but just saying it would be tough for any coach and team if they have a lot of injuries though the course of the year. And it's so common in the game now that teams lose a lot of players through injury. Don't know if its the six again, speed, but it can make the playing field uneven if the best players are not playing. Don't know if it's something the NRL can look at. Maybe give a bit more leniency (time) in the ruck? Just slow the game down a bit.
It is also really important for each club to dig down into their players own preparations before games.
I was surprised to hear Madge commenting in the press conference that the trainers weren’t overdoing the players workload and look what happened to them this round.
 
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