The Halfback Conundrum

Which potential halfback, available from November 1, should the club make the #1 priority?

  • Ben Hunt

    Votes: 7 13.2%

  • Braydon Trindall

    Votes: 7 13.2%

  • Jonah Pezet

    Votes: 27 50.9%

  • Sam Walker

    Votes: 3 5.7%

  • Daniel Atkinson

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Lachlan Ilias

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • None of the above - Stick by Jack Cogger and continue to nurture kids currently in the system

    Votes: 5 9.4%

  • Other (comment with their name)

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Ronald Volkman

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Toby Sexton

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    53
Seano said:
Happy to get posting to shed Greg Smith the same way Darren Britt shed him from the ball in the 2nd half of that game.

Speaking of which (not sure the right forum to ask this) but me and my old man (also a Knights tragic) saw that Laitia Moceidreke was selected for the NFL pathways program (good luck to him) but we wondered why he didn't make it at the Knights? We were hoping he'd be the new Dom Young (they don't show many reserve grade games on Kayo, unfortunately).
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A very fair question about Moceidreke, his physical attributes should have transferred easily in to the nrl. Very much the more laid back style of winger that Edrick Lee was more than the explosive Young, but his reach alone shut down some dangerous situations last year. There was a moment last year where he really started to be effective and Marz wasn't travelling too hot when I thought he would get a run in the top grade, next minute he was playing in the local comp. Was efficient in attack more than exciting but was very safe. I don't know why they didn't see a cheap wing option sitting there who could do a job for years and never be the reason we lost.
 
bremsstrahlung said:
Hastings would be a high risk/high reward option imo. I think he would be more motivated than ever to shut people up and prove them wrong. Could result in a massive year.

Or…we’ve burned him, he’s burned us, untenable.

I may be reading into it, or be biased in my memory, but something seemed to change between 2023 and 2024 in his relationship with Ponga. Our run home was largely influenced by getting Ponga into good positions and giving him the ball when the time was right. A plan if you will.

2024 seemed to be just giving it to him for the sake of it. There ya go, do something. Then when that didn’t work, it was almost like Hastings was deciding not to give it to Ponga. We’d set up to spread left with 3 v 3 and Hastings would hold the pass or go back to the right.

I think AOB sits them down and says, positions are open, train and play trials for a spot.
I think Cogger/ Gamble is box seat combo atm. If Hastings or Pryce have a great pre season, maybe they come into contention.


Cogger did a job at the end of the season, maybe he’s a confidence player and needed to settle in.


Whoever it is, sort out the kicking. Hope we don’t have to endure another season of 100% uncontested shallow ‘bombs’ that land on the 20-30m.
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Totally unrelated but I just googled your username. I still don’t know what it means after reading the Wikipedia article 😆 check out the big brain on this bloke
 
But yeah re: Hastings, I can only think that he just got in his own head a lot about his body after the two broken legs & not getting pre-seasons, and with his mental health issues that manifested in an undesirable way. I have no doubt he’s an unusual cat that a lot of other blokes aren’t excited to hang out with socially, but I believe we have a playing group which wants to win and so isn’t worried about that *if he’s making a positive contribution to wins*. The issues, as far as I can tell, arose because his play started hurting us.

If he gets his body 90% back to the way it was when he returned to Australia, he’s unquestionably the best halfback at the club, and the list of better 7’s in the comp is this: Cleary, DCE, Moses, Hughes, Reynolds, S Walker, Hunt, Hynes/Trindall, Luai, with Katoa also likely to surpass him this year (I don’t think he’s there yet).

By no means elite, but there’s no one better at our club.

In terms of talent, I would actually say the best 6 & 7 combo we have available is Pryce and Hastings. If Jackson can get his body right.
 
It's probably the case that AOB hadn't properly considered needing to rely on Hastings at 7 in 2025, until yesterday. Relying on Hastings is so risky that it's actually not viable to rely on him at all.

That being said, that's exactly where we're at. Unless the club has some other plan for halfback, which doesn't seem likely given the complete lack of discussion/reporting on anyone other than Pezet
 
We've got plenty of promising options for the 6 jersey in Linnane, Pryce and potentially both Sharpe or Votano. Also the bloke with the mullet Hunt I think his name is showed potential in the lower grades looked handy.

All of those blokes can run the ball so does a halfback like Sexton become a legimate option?

Lacks a running game but has good vision, crafty short kicking game that's better than anyone here and improved massively in the last 12 months.

Or does Liam Sutton or Haami Loza breakthrough next season to the point they're ready to be the long term 7 here.

Cogger is a stop gap at best and Hastings I've got concerns about which I've mentioned already.
 
jamesgould said:
Unless the plan is for 2035 then it's not the greatest plan from Bazza.
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Exactly club has been trying to develop an elite half since the early 2000’s if they could they would internally. They’re the hardest position to find.

Ponga will be gone after 2028 no doubt there will be a huge hole in the roster
 
Lefty said:
Toohey’s view on our halfback conundrum:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1868128104306319496
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We like 12 or so other teams in the comp have to develop one and hope they stay at the club

As there is always a roosters, storm, brisbane,Souths etc that will buy one instead of developing from young.

When there isn’t any decent ones on market for next year or two we need to get Sutton and linnane and lozza playing NSW cup all year and hope that development has been working
 
The Knights have to get their historically comically bad, development, recruitment and retention right. Otherwise, it's a never-ending cycle of paying overs for journeymen while watching the Sydney clubs pick off our best talent.

I hope we're no longer the club that desperately tried to keep Anthony Milford despite him mostly sucking during his time in Newcastle.

I also hope the Dogs miss their premiership window and end up with a top-heavy roster with their best juniors playing elsewhere. Not because of Leo, I have nothing against the Dogs (I support the Knights and whoever is the underdog) but I intensely dislike Gus (I'm also sick of people telling me Gus set up Penrith, Orly, when he literally fired Cleary after one injury-ravaged season to sign Hook...what a Genius move that was).

PS. Moley seems to think the Dogs have got Leo despite the Knights having the advantage of being the only club that can offer him an upgraded contract for 2025, but given the Pezet walked away from $2.5m and a first-grade gig I would not be surprised.

Halfback wise it doesn't look like there's anyone else on the market better than we have now (Madden, Sullivan, possibly Tom Weaver...I can't see any of these blokes making the Knights better). AJ Brimson? Maybe given the Tits don't know where or if they can get him into their team...otherwise Barry Toohey is right....by default, time to develop our own halfback.
 
My order of preference on next season’s halfback situation (all are underscored with one of the juniors stepping up in future seasons):

1. Hastings gets himself right physically and mentally to retake the 7 spot. I reckon he was carrying a bit too much timber last season (maybe due to his leg injury) to be effective laterally so hopefully with time he has recovered to train well and the concoction of meds he is on now centres him mentally.
2. Cogger continues his end of season form and grows even more in confidence to move the team around the park. Realistically if this were the situation to occur then it would be about keeping it tight and getting the ball to Ponga in attack whenever he wants it.
3. Bring in another middling half like O’Sullivan or Madden. I’m sure either would do a ok job but it would clog the development pathways up even more for those coming through unless we offload either Hastings or Cogger.

Gamble surely starts at 6 with Pryce his understudy.
 
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A couple of guys who came into firstgrade as young running 5/8s - Jarrod Mullen and Kurt Gidley - both turned themselves into organising halves.

We have a heap of running 5/8s - Gamble, Pryce, Sutton, Linnane, even Riley Jones, Fletcher Sharpe and Votano.

It took Gidley about a year before he was any good as a 7.

Pick one of those guys, tell him he's in charge, and by the end of the year he might be going OK.
 
We are in trouble with our best 7.
If Cogger is our 7 then Hastings can be played elsewhere or not meaning we play our best local junior at 7 in Cup to develop, likely Sutton.
If Hastings is our 7 then Cogger is our likely Cup 7, no place for our best local junior, gone is our development option.
If Cogger our 7 is injured then if Hastings going well he can fill in at 7 if not a long term injury.
If Hastings not going well along with Cogger injury we then have to rush our best local injury to 1sts unless we make a different option like Crosslands to 7.
Moving Crosslands to 7 weakens our 9/14 with Brailey and Crosslands.
My thoughts are - Cogger and Gamble 7 & 6, Hastings wherever, Cup 7 & 6 Sutton and Pryce, 9 & 14 Brailey and Crosslands, injuries may change things but based on what we have this appears our best option for now and future at least for next season, 1-5 and 8-13 along with 14-17 seem strong
 
Gamble can play halfback. He did it in the 2nd half of the semi vs Canberra. I would rather Gamble than Cogger and Hastings as he has a long kicking game
 
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