Recruitment And Retention Discussion

If it was Mitchell Moses or Tom Dearden I think maybe a different story but I don’t think brown realistically in the top 5 halves in the nrl.
Dearden isn't top 5 either.
For me,
1) Cleary
2) Hughes
3) Munster
4) DCE
5) Mosses
Walker, Hunt, Reynolds, Luai

Then maybe Dearden
 
One advantage we'll have in keeping KP is that he will qualify for the veteran's discount as he'll have been at the club for 8 years in 2026. I'm not sure what that is but it's not nothing and should help us at least match offers.
 
Hmmm, good points on signing Brown. So we are saying if we get him, let’s say 1.2mil. He will be the 7? Who the obvious choice to partner with him in the halves? What’s his kicking game like? My argument against, is to me he is a six, and I feel we already have players that can fill that role. We need a player 7, that can control the game and steer the team around.
 
We'd only be guessing at KP's motivations when signing a new contract. But money is always going to be a factor for any sportsperson with a limited shelf life on their career.

But I'd be surprised if the clubs that come in for Ponga are already winning franchises, ie. it won't likely be a Penrith. So the Knights' job will not only be to match offers (and as I said we get an advantage there with the veteran discount) but to put a side together that excites KP about wanting to stay in Newy.

As I've said before the Knights's biggest signing since KP could well be POS.

PS. Essentially what I'm saying is if Ponga loves Newcastle and the Knights (which I believe he does) even if he wants to pursue a premiership if the Knights are on track with their roster development (which I personally believe they will be/are) then there's no reason he wouldn't stay in Newy if the money is right.

He'll be on too much money to go club already winning premierships it's the next tier down from that, the clubs that need one or two pieces to become genuine title threats that will be in serious contention for his signature and there's no reason I can see why the Knights shouldn't be one of those sides.

PPS. This, of course, assumes no salary cap shenanigans are going on behind the scenes.
 
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Dearden isn't top 5 either.
For me,
1) Cleary
2) Hughes
3) Munster
4) DCE
5) Mosses
Walker, Hunt, Reynolds, Luai

Then maybe Dearden
I’d go more like:

1. Cleary
gap
2. Moses & DCE
another gap
4. Hughes
5. Munster

Reason being, I think Moses & DCE both have more complete games than Hughes (Hughes as a ball player is only okay, everything is built off his running threat) and both have proven to be the difference between their team being competitive and terrible. There’s no question to me that those five are the standouts though.

6-10 would be Luai, Hunt, Sam Walker, D Brown and Dearden, not in that order specifically. I would have had Reynolds & Cody Walker comfortably in the top ten in the past but I think they’re both a bit cooked now.

Bit of a hot take leaving Nicho out but I go back and forth on him. He’s looked great when the attack has been specifically built around him throwing pretty cut out passes but can’t seem to adjust to a more diverse play style.
 
If he is still struggling and if the Sharks are still lukewarm on Kennedy I wonder if Nicho ends up back in the 1 this season. Of course, how Kade Dykes' goes following his ACL recovery will also be a factor.
 
If he is still struggling and if the Sharks are still lukewarm on Kennedy I wonder if Nicho ends up back in the 1 this season. Of course, how Kade Dykes' goes following his ACL recovery will also be a factor.
I don’t see Nicho as a premiership winning 7, in my eyes as a 7 lately he looks more like a average first grader.

This pre season I’d be looking to get rid of Kennedy and use Nicho as a FB in round 1, I feel like you get more out of him that way.

1. Hynes
6. Atkinson
7. Trindal

Looks a lot stronger and this way Nicho can inject himself when he feels the time is right.
 
I’d go more like:

1. Cleary
gap
2. Moses & DCE
another gap
4. Hughes
5. Munster

Reason being, I think Moses & DCE both have more complete games than Hughes (Hughes as a ball player is only okay, everything is built off his running threat) and both have proven to be the difference between their team being competitive and terrible. There’s no question to me that those five are the standouts though.

6-10 would be Luai, Hunt, Sam Walker, D Brown and Dearden, not in that order specifically. I would have had Reynolds & Cody Walker comfortably in the top ten in the past but I think they’re both a bit cooked now.

Bit of a hot take leaving Nicho out but I go back and forth on him. He’s looked great when the attack has been specifically built around him throwing pretty cut out passes but can’t seem to adjust to a more diverse play style.
Think that's pretty rough on Hynes, or perhaps too complimentary of Luai. Hynes showed what a good complimentary playmaker he could be at the storm, and has done a pretty good job of taking on the main role at Cronulla. Do you really think he couldn't have looked just as good in Penrith's side if you gave him Luai's role for the past couple of years?

I'm not even super high on Hynes - I think the Sharks will look better next year if they significantly increase Trindall's touches at Hynes's expense. They'd look better swapping the 6 and 7 jerseys IMO.
 
Think that's pretty rough on Hynes, or perhaps too complimentary of Luai. Hynes showed what a good complimentary playmaker he could be at the storm, and has done a pretty good job of taking on the main role at Cronulla. Do you really think he couldn't have looked just as good in Penrith's side if you gave him Luai's role for the past couple of years?

I'm not even super high on Hynes - I think the Sharks will look better next year if they significantly increase Trindall's touches at Hynes's expense. They'd look better swapping the 6 and 7 jerseys IMO.
Definitely agree re: Trindall and Hynes, but yeah for me early returns on their play with Tricky took on a bigger role were, for me, that Tricky looked great and Hynes a bit anonymous. I feel like he doesn’t have a gear in between “ball dominant” and “anonymous”. Maybe that’s too harsh? I don’t know.

Maybe they just need more time to work it out.

I’m backing Luai to thrive this year but I wouldn’t fall off my chair if this take ages horribly 😂
 
I love how the talk goes on here, a player comes up as a potential, inevitably followed by pages of "yeah nah pass not what we need". In the 7 role anything short of Cleary, Moses or a dead set future superstar is not what we need.

The thing is, we aren't those clubs that can recruit top tier players. We massively hit the jackpot getting Ponga to sign here. That has to go down as the best recruitment performance we have ever converted on, considering the position the club was in at the time.

But since then we haven't recruited top of the line talent. Even Ponga at the time was yet to be proven but fit the "future superstar" tag.

The prices being paid for average halves, and the premium demanded by those halves that have their heads above the pack is simply due to the lack of decent halves options, and the salary cap increasing. The numbers sound like a lot now, but in reality the cap is always on the up.

If we could get Brown that would be fantastic, Ponga runs the show mostly anyway and I'd be concerned if we got a top line 7, how would that gel with the way Ponga operates as he does not just play his fullback role, he is more like a half hiding at fullback.

Any half looking to come here would have to be asking the question how they fit in to the plan, how are they going to get a chance to play their footy if Ponga is the main attacking focus.

In the end, we have to sit back and watch "Sydney" clubs like the Tigers recruit top ties talent whilst we toil away with what we can get, and usually paying overs for that.

In the end, the NRL is ultimately to blame for the way the salary cap is quietly allowed to be rorted by TPA's.
 
I think adding Brown to our roster whilst May not get us a premiership (maybe it would also) I think we would become more likely too 4 contenders most years. People on here were willing to give Leo 8-900k Brown is a similar match winner to Ponga. If he had Lucas KPP Best Sharp Gags to ball play with Ponga that would be lethal. My biggest gripe on Any of our current halves is they can’t consistently or even regularly utilise the strengths out wide we have. So we end up paying big money for centres and 2rfs that we don’t use. I’ve said it before but KPP is a priority signing for me at the right price and Brown would be a real catch if we could land him.
 
I love how the talk goes on here, a player comes up as a potential, inevitably followed by pages of "yeah nah pass not what we need". In the 7 role anything short of Cleary, Moses or a dead set future superstar is not what we need.

The thing is, we aren't those clubs that can recruit top tier players. We massively hit the jackpot getting Ponga to sign here. That has to go down as the best recruitment performance we have ever converted on, considering the position the club was in at the time.

But since then we haven't recruited top of the line talent. Even Ponga at the time was yet to be proven but fit the "future superstar" tag.

The prices being paid for average halves, and the premium demanded by those halves that have their heads above the pack is simply due to the lack of decent halves options, and the salary cap increasing. The numbers sound like a lot now, but in reality the cap is always on the up.

If we could get Brown that would be fantastic, Ponga runs the show mostly anyway and I'd be concerned if we got a top line 7, how would that gel with the way Ponga operates as he does not just play his fullback role, he is more like a half hiding at fullback.

Any half looking to come here would have to be asking the question how they fit in to the plan, how are they going to get a chance to play their footy if Ponga is the main attacking focus.

In the end, we have to sit back and watch "Sydney" clubs like the Tigers recruit top ties talent whilst we toil away with what we can get, and usually paying overs for that.

In the end, the NRL is ultimately to blame for the way the salary cap is quietly allowed to be rorted by TPA's.
Still don’t know why we don’t go for Sexton, young, very good ceiling, showed he can hang in first grader.

He isn’t a big name and everyone is predicting he is on the outer as soon as the dogs pull the Woods trigger, we get a young former schoolboy with a high ceiling a better kicking game than all our halves, he isn’t a big name so atm you can get him for cheaper and he won’t mind playing second fiddle to KP.

He fits the archetype we need

Seems like a no brainer to me cost a lot less than DB and is a genuine 7.

I say $650-700k and we should be able to snatch him from the dogs since he knows himself his time is limited there, might be a bit of a overpayment but as you said yourself even decent 7s are hard to find nowadays if we launched now before others pile on I think we could grab him.
 
Whether we get Brown or not it's 100% all about getting development and recruitment/retention right for the Knights. As KB points out above it's the only way that Newcastle can compete with the Sydney clubs and their TPAs.
 
I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the Brown discussion

I think we should be trying to sign Brown

I believe $1.2 mil is a little overs for Brown, but it isn’t massive overs as others on here have pointed out. There will be clubs out there that are going to pay him $1.2 because there are no quality halves out there. I’d hate for a club like the Dragons to get him over us.

We are unfortunately a club that will need to pay overs to recruit decent talent. The key is to get the right talent. If POS thinks he is worth that, then I trust POS.

Brown is very talented, better than any of the halves we currently have on the roster. I’m just not sure if he is a half back or 5/8. Either way he will provide another point of attack to help Ponga out, which we are desperate for.

We should be worried about the Roosters because they have a massive war chest with the players they’ve let go, so they are after someone, hopefully it’s not Ponga

What we have been doing with our halves hasn’t been working for a while. We need to land a big fish. What are the other options currently available for us…. young kids that won’t be ready for first grade for a couple of years

Just my thoughts
 
I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the Brown discussion

I think we should be trying to sign Brown

I believe $1.2 mil is a little overs for Brown, but it isn’t massive overs as others on here have pointed out. There will be clubs out there that are going to pay him $1.2 because there are no quality halves out there. I’d hate for a club like the Dragons to get him over us.

We are unfortunately a club that will need to pay overs to recruit decent talent. The key is to get the right talent. If POS thinks he is worth that, then I trust POS.

Brown is very talented, better than any of the halves we currently have on the roster. I’m just not sure if he is a half back or 5/8. Either way he will provide another point of attack to help Ponga out, which we are desperate for.

We should be worried about the Roosters because they have a massive war chest with the players they’ve let go, so they are after someone, hopefully it’s not Ponga

What we have been doing with our halves hasn’t been working for a while. We need to land a big fish. What are the other options currently available for us…. young kids that won’t be ready for first grade for a couple of years

Just my thoughts
Great first post, welcome aboard! :)
 
Here is where lies the problem. We just can't have ponga being the number 1 man. He is a crucial link but he just needs to be exactly that. We want him for the big moments and his never there. Plenty of games I watched last year, we make a break and there is not a soul remotely close but here's ponga setting up the next raid.
Yeah I agree. I’ve been critical of him not pushing up but that is likely because he’s play making. Sharp coming in from the wing to do that would be great or a good 7 or 6 to free him up.
 
Definitely agree re: Trindall and Hynes, but yeah for me early returns on their play with Tricky took on a bigger role were, for me, that Tricky looked great and Hynes a bit anonymous. I feel like he doesn’t have a gear in between “ball dominant” and “anonymous”. Maybe that’s too harsh? I don’t know.

Maybe they just need more time to work it out.

I’m backing Luai to thrive this year but I wouldn’t fall off my chair if this take ages horribly 😂
I have looked closely at players who leave the Storm, and on just about every occasion, they don’t do as well in other teams.
IMO Hynes plays his best football at fullback, even at the Storm. He has performed about as well as I thought he would play at the Sharks, moments of OK, but many very average moments.
The Sharks have a problem with Hynes and he will remain a very expensive playmaker who doesn’t playmaker all that well.
But hindsight is cheap…..
 
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