Recruitment And Retention Discussion

Seano said:
Somewhere in the depths of Knights HQ there's a whiteboard with Matt Lodge's name on it....jokes...I hope we can keep KPP at the right price if not I'm sure POS has a list of targets and with so much going off the books, some room to maneuver despite the signing of DB.
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I’m glad we quickly put to bed that fake rumour as quickly as it came out. Phil knows
 
frankLauda said:
We paid overs for him. I think his real value is 500 to 600k. Canberra must have some money cause they didn’t get Leo. It would not surprise me in the slightest if they offer him 600k.

It’s a risk saying we have second row covered. Do we? They are all guys that have barely played FG. Sure they are FGer’s in the making but it could take a season or two for them to fully develop.
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And Frizz is only a maybe to play for a year or 2 more.
 
Breen3 said:
I personally don’t know what all the hype is about KPP. Unless he’s willing to take a significant pay cut I’d be letting him go. When you look at Angus Crighton and Liam Martin who are on 750k and 800k he’s not even close to their level
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I think if we can offer him 500k two years and he stays that’s a win win. He should have been playing on the right last year. It obvious that’s his preferred side. More time there they can work out how to play of a late offload. He’s also a good defender.
 
These things are all true of KPP a) it doesn't matter what he was paid previously b) he's constantly improving c) he hasn't hit his ceiling d) he's a walk-up start on our current list.

But there's a salary cap and the Knights have a fair chunk of theirs invested in half of the spine so it has to be the right price. Hopefully, we're still in the ballpark and lifestyle, incumbency and the Knights' vision of the future are enough to keep KPP in red and blue.

Otherwise, hopefully, Ricky pays overs.
 
frankLauda said:
It’s a risk saying we have second row covered. Do we? They are all guys that have barely played FG. Sure they are FGer’s in the making but it could take a season or two for them to fully develop.
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I think we have second row covered, now I have a strong dislike to Phil Gould I think he is incredibly overhyped but I do agree with what he said about the U19s SOO, he said something along the lines “this is as physical as any NRL game these guys can go in it tomorrow and do well”.

Now I thought McEwens debut was very meh, nothing crazy but not crazy horrible, he could go there, Cant has been in great form as a second rower, massive metres, and solid defence at the NRL level, I’ve never agreed with a time frame for players to debut its not a reliable metric to measure some players take ages if at all and some take to it like a duck does to water, McCarthy, McEwen and Cant all look like they can play first grade right now (McEwen probably on the bench for a bit) McCarthy is obviously behind Best and Gags, and I think Cant has proven he can start in the Titans loss Cant made 52 tackles, missing only two and ran for over 150 metres.
 
KPGreatness said:
I think we have second row covered, now I have a strong dislike to Phil Gould I think he is incredibly overhyped but I do agree with what he said about the U19s SOO, he said something along the lines “this is as physical as any NRL game these guys can go in it tomorrow and do well”.

Now I thought McEwens debut was very meh, nothing crazy but not crazy horrible, he could go there, Cant has been in great form as a second rower, massive metres, and solid defence at the NRL level, I’ve never agreed with a time frame for players to debut its not a reliable metric to measure some players take ages if at all and some take to it like a duck does to water, McCarthy, McEwen and Cant all look like they can play first grade right now (McEwen probably on the bench for a bit) McCarthy is obviously behind Best and Gags, and I think Cant has proven he can start in the Titans loss Cant made 52 tackles, missing only two and ran for over 150 metres.
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Well dropping Jones to 18th man tells you AOB has confidence in McEwen. Both him and Cant get more regular games, see how they perform will make the decision on KPP easier.
 
2026, if we keep KPP then he has to be front row starter or bench 2026 at a reduced current rate, we have back row well covered.
If Frizell plays on in 2026 then we should play him at front row, he would play a strong 40-50 mins and fill a void
With KPP and Frizell at starting or bench prop we are strong along with back ups Jones and Croker with Hetherington if resigned.
That means our back three could easily be Lucas, McEwen and Cant with backup Elliott if resigned
Meaning out 16 and 17 could be any of Jones, Croker, Hetherington, Elliott and anyone coming through.
Tyrone Thompson, ESL and a few others are likely to put pressure on all those named above.
2026 looks ok to very good
 
EASBay17 said:
Caryanis on SEN atm , said knights want to retain kpp but have told him to test his value , the belief is he will take a pay cut whereever he goes. Seems like we know this and want him to see that, but we are keen to retain at the right price.
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Hope it works out for us! Can see the Raiders coming in with some insane bid though.
 
I notice Paul Bryan is starting prop in reserve grade this week.
I thought he looked at his best for a few years in the last game.
He is only going to be a pretty similar player to Matt Croker at his best, but fingers crossed, he might be a cheap firstgrade option next year if he finds his form again.
 
Reckon we already have the cheap firstgrade options in Croker and Jones.

With 26 signed the recruitment should be retain KPP and Tyrone (promoted to top 30) and find a starting middle. Roll into 2026 with:

JSaf
Crossland
New Signing
Lucas
KPP
Frizz

Then a grab bag of Arthur, Tyrone, Croker, Cant, McEwen, Jones, Hopwood, ESL, Sullivan for the bench.
 
slotmachine said:
Reckon we already have the cheap firstgrade options in Croker and Jones.

With 26 signed the recruitment should be retain KPP and Tyrone (promoted to top 30) and find a starting middle. Roll into 2026 with:

JSaf
Crossland
New Signing
Lucas
KPP
Frizz

Then a grab bag of Arthur, Tyrone, Croker, Cant, McEwen, Jones, Hopwood, ESL, Sullivan for the bench.
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I don't think it hurts that your cheap options are experienced either
 
I like KPP, but if the Raiders sign him for good money, I think the conversation needs to be had about seeing if the Raiders will entertain an early release for one of their over-abundance of middles in exchange for getting Kai this year.

Morgan Smithies and Ata Mariota both preferred over Trey Mooney yet again last night for example. I don’t get that. Trey would be exactly the kind of prop both POS and AOB would salivate over I reckon. Great athlete with a few things to work on.

Trey would be the first bench prop picked for us for the rest of this season and then I’d bet on him taking Leo’s spot next season.
 
Trey isn’t the brightest tool in the shed id wager,

4 years at the Raiders and only 23 games and only one year where he was given over 10 games, why the hell would he re-sign there knowing he could get actual game time anywhere else

Started two games and now looks like he has been put back in the shadow realm for him to stall his game when he is clearly NRL ready.
 
slotmachine said:
Mooney is signed until the end of 2027, why are the Raiders releasing him for half a season of KPP?
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This is in the context of them signing Kai beyond this year, which they are apparently interested in doing.

Why did they release Mitch Barnett to us with two years to run on his contract, when he was also 22? Because they didn't buy into him over some of their other options.
 
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