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
R_A said:
Ben Hunt officially free from the Dragons’ disgraceful treatment and his disgraced cheating coach in Flanagan that thinks his son is immune to criticism.
Not expecting the Knights to take him whatsoever but whoever does closes the door on both competition for other halfbacks and the possibility someone losing their spot to him might be looking elsewhere.
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Or even better, convince them to take Hastings to provide cover for their halves. Flanagan might be stupid enough to think he can get Hastings back to his best.
 
Yeah I'm not sure the Knights are interested, but I don't think it'd be that hard to fit him in if they were. Just a bit of creative cap management.

Let Brailey go. There's $600K in 2025. Then not re-signing Hastings gives you an extra 7-$800K, so you pay Hunt $1.3-4 million in 2026. If Hastings sees which way the wind is blowing and decides to get out of dodge immediately, great, even paying more than half freight and only freeing up $300K in 2025 would let you even up Hunt's salary over the two seasons a fair bit.

I'm sure there's a lot of sticker shock with those numbers hahaha. But it would take the pressure off big time to fix this long term immediately.

Then you can let P.O.S. do his thing and pick up a really talented under-scouted #7 prospect for 2026/7 on the cheap.
 
Vagabond89 said:
Or even better, convince them to take Hastings to provide cover for their halves. Flanagan might be stupid enough to think he can get Hastings back to his best.
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Dunno how serious the Bennett and Souths rumours are but I'm accepting that Hastings will be being here in 2025 for the time being.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Yeah I'm not sure the Knights are interested, but I don't think it'd be that hard to fit him in if they were. Just a bit of creative cap management.

Let Brailey go. There's $600K in 2025. Then not re-signing Hastings gives you an extra 7-$800K, so you pay Hunt $1.3-4 million in 2026. If Hastings sees which way the wind is blowing and decides to get out of dodge immediately, great, even paying more than half freight and only freeing up $300K in 2025 would let you even up Hunt's salary over the two seasons a fair bit.

I'm sure there's a lot of sticker shock with those numbers hahaha. But it would take the pressure off big time to fix this long term immediately.

Then you can let P.O.S. do his thing and pick up a really talented under-scouted #7 prospect for 2026/7 on the cheap.
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I can’t see Hunt in any space where clubs are prepared to pay him anywhere near 1 million per season. He has very few tomorrows.
We need someone who can play here for had a dozen seasons and will have a go.
I am tired of paying my membership to watch too many overpaid, under performing players who are just in it for the pay cheque and who are never going to get us in the same postcode as top 4 teams.
It has been amazing to witness the drastic improvement in form of some of our “alpha” players who were tapped on the shoulder this year. The change in their play was simply unbelievable!
Accountability is a wonderful thing.
Newcastle crowds love players who have a go and can smell bull dust from a long way off.
 
Is Dylan Brown an option, as of Nov1 he can sign with another club, or take player options at the eels???

Send Hastings to Dragons for hunt and brailey to eels for Brown
 
dalpretzel said:
Is Dylan Brown an option, as of Nov1 he can sign with another club, or take player options at the eels???

Send Hastings to Dragons for hunt and brailey to eels for Brown
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Brown was awful while Moses was out. Imagine how bad he would be here without a recognised 7 at all. No thanks
 
Redandblue said:
Surely Hunt is a waste of time for us ,as he only has 1/2 years left . It will take us that long to be a top 4 team and even then we would be well behind the grand finalists
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I'm torn, I agree we're not going to be at the Panthers/Storm level in the next two years but as a stepping stone while we find a good young halfback it sort of makes sense. If Hunt has anything left in the tank, that is.
 
He looks to me like he’s still in great shape, and for almost his first 100 games he was a bench utility so his number of games played is a bit misleading in terms of how many miles he’s got on the clock. But irrespective of that, with old guys, when the wall comes, they tend to hit it hard. He could be awesome in 2025 and then a liability in 2026. He could still be going good in 2027. It’s really hard to say.
 
Knights have ruled out a play for Ben Hunt.

Te Maire Martin mentioned as someone possibly being talked about by the club though. Interestingly, he had probably the best form of his career this season playing halfback when Shaun Johnson was injured.

Here were his stats:

8 games

5 wins
3 losses (by a combined 5 points)

3 tries
14 try assists
3 line breaks
12 line break assists
5 forced drop outs

I remembered thinking he took to playing 7 very well, his ball playing asked more questions with him playing through the middle third with multiple options outside him than it did playing down the wide channels being asked to throw the moneyball as a 6 or 1 - which is basically the same system we play, dig hard into the line and pick between the lead runner, fullback or the tunnel ball to the centre - because he’s quite deceptive with his hands/eyes and he’s enough of a running threat that he always holds up the defenders he engages.

Short kicking pretty good, clever, distance/field position kicking a bit Gamble-y.

Didn’t think a lot of his performances at the time re: the Knights because he’s a Kiwi who’s gone back to play in New Zealand and I always assume those guys are going to stay.

He would be an upgrade on what we have and we’d be able to be open minded about whether we want to bring a top talent through at 6 or 7, because he can just play the other position.
 
Taj Annan played fly half, centre and fullback in Union.
POS seems to think his best position in league will be wing, but also says he could play anywhere from 1 to 6 and has a massive kick like Mat Burton.
No one seems to have any idea how we'll use this guy - 193cm - same height as Kyle McCarthy but 7kg heavier.
 
Billy said:
Taj Annan played fly half, centre and fullback in Union.
POS seems to think his best position in league will be wing, but also says he could play anywhere from 1 to 6 and has a massive kick like Mat Burton.
No one seems to have any idea how we'll use this guy - 193cm - same height as Kyle McCarthy but 7kg heavier.
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His probably a bit to raw to play at 6. I can see him at centre moving to the backrow
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Knights have ruled out a play for Ben Hunt.

Te Maire Martin mentioned as someone possibly being talked about by the club though. Interestingly, he had probably the best form of his career this season playing halfback when Shaun Johnson was injured.

Here were his stats:

8 games

5 wins
3 losses (by a combined 5 points)

3 tries
14 try assists
3 line breaks
12 line break assists
5 forced drop outs

I remembered thinking he took to playing 7 very well, his ball playing asked more questions with him playing through the middle third with multiple options outside him than it did playing down the wide channels being asked to throw the moneyball as a 6 or 1 - which is basically the same system we play, dig hard into the line and pick between the lead runner, fullback or the tunnel ball to the centre - because he’s quite deceptive with his hands/eyes and he’s enough of a running threat that he always holds up the defenders he engages.

Short kicking pretty good, clever, distance/field position kicking a bit Gamble-y.

Didn’t think a lot of his performances at the time re: the Knights because he’s a Kiwi who’s gone back to play in New Zealand and I always assume those guys are going to stay.

He would be an upgrade on what we have and we’d be able to be open minded about whether we want to bring a top talent through at 6 or 7, because he can just play the other position.
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You make it sound so simple and workable it's hard to disagree. It's perhaps the reason Crossland can play 7 competently at the Knights. Maybe it's a position made easier to play by our set-up.

Maybe a TMM type is the best suited to the role, short of having the option for a $1m halfback.
 
Les Misérables said:
You make it sound so simple and workable it's hard to disagree. It's perhaps the reason Crossland can play 7 competently at the Knights. Maybe it's a position made easier to play by our set-up.

Maybe a TMM type is the best suited to the role, short of having the option for a $1m halfback.
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Simple cause we have KP. Such a talent at the back who break the line with half(or less) of a chance or create space is a dream for a 7. Likes of Cogger and TMM would/should work well here.
 
Les Misérables said:
You make it sound so simple and workable it's hard to disagree. It's perhaps the reason Crossland can play 7 competently at the Knights. Maybe it's a position made easier to play by our set-up.

Maybe a TMM type is the best suited to the role, short of having the option for a $1m halfback.
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He’s a good player, Te Maire. We’d still want to add an elite player on top of that - whether that takes the form of someone like Jye Linnane or Will Pryce killing it as a 6, or being in position to sign one of the Eels halves in the event they’re looking elsewhere because we have the likes of Crossland, Arthur & our contracted halves on value deals. But I don’t think you ever watch a game TMM played in and end up saying “they lost that game because Te Maire didn’t do his role/couldn’t make his tackles”.
 
The Warriors performed really well with him at halfback this year, much better than they did with Johnson.

I’m surprised he seems to be available, I would have been certain the Warriors would see him and CHT as their long term halves.
 
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