The pre-season 2026 thread

jamesgould said:
Is anyone else quite relaxed about what Holbrook does with the spine? I don’t think there’s a perfect solution there … everything just feels like we’re trying to crowbar Sharpe in somewhere just to get him in the 17, to me.

So I’m just going to see what he comes up with, I’m sure it’ll be very different positionally and tactically to AOB … those tactics will hopefully give the players more chance of success … and everyone’s a year older and have hopefully developed as players that bit more.

So I really don’t have any preference … I think a big part this year will be changing things, adjusting to a new environment, and putting that puzzle together. If we become competitive again across 27 rounds, then that’ll be a win.
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Im somewhat the same. Regardless of how the halves play or who it is, for the love of god just put the 6 on browns back to shut up the media.
 
jamesgould said:
Is anyone else quite relaxed about what Holbrook does with the spine? I don’t think there’s a perfect solution there … everything just feels like we’re trying to crowbar Sharpe in somewhere just to get him in the 17, to me.

So I’m just going to see what he comes up with, I’m sure it’ll be very different positionally and tactically to AOB … those tactics will hopefully give the players more chance of success … and everyone’s a year older and have hopefully developed as players that bit more.

So I really don’t have any preference … I think a big part this year will be changing things, adjusting to a new environment, and putting that puzzle together. If we become competitive again across 27 rounds, then that’ll be a win.
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I think regardless of whether Sharpe is 7 ,5 or 2 and Smith is 7, 9 or 14, our spine looks a lot more capable than last year. Brown certainly adds some experience and class to the side.

Who knows, maybe(hopefully) Brown absolutely thrives here, accepts the added responsibility of being a big money player, takes ownership and drives this team around and we see a side of his game he hasn’t showcased before.

It’s fun to speculate who will play where. I’m with you, I don’t really have much of an opinion at the moment of who should play where. Any option is better than last season imo. I’m most excited a the prospect of new tactics and mindset.

I think our 2026 season will hopefully answer a lot of questions we have about 2027/2028 in terms of personnel.

I can’t help but think that Ponga having an absolutely brilliant season would be a huge conundrum for the higher ups.
 
www.newcastleherald.com.au

Knights coach on NRL's proposed rule changes and if Sharpe will become his super sub

The code is weighing up several changes, including having a six-man bench.
www.newcastleherald.com.au www.newcastleherald.com.au

Article where Holbrook speculates on the 6 man bench proposal, saying you could name 4 forwards, one backline specialist and one playmaker.
He seems to say he could name someone like Sharpe or Gamble or both every game and, if everything went well, they might never get on the field.
 
So last year our elected 18th man would play half a game of reggies if the match was before firsts. I wonder if teams go with that for guys who are nominated for the bench but unlikely to get a run barring injury. Can you even do that if they are part of the match day squad?
 
New super sub rule reminds me of the X player in the BBL that lasted 1 season were u could play someone for like 10 overs than sub them off, I think Bartlett used to be a specialist who would bowl 2 overs than get subbed out.
 
danknights said:
The boys in general are all looking bigger. Greg is looking massive and pheens is huge to. Even Fletch hunt looks like his put on some size.
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I actually thought Best was looking smaller so he could focus on speed and maybe not carry as much weight on his bad legs 🤔
 
Hi. Not sure where to post this but does anyone know what the local time will be for our game in Vegas? Every website I have seen either says TBC or has both games starting at 1pm.
 
Thieves Like Us said:
I was gonna say the opposite (no offence). I’ve always thought Ponga has played better when he’s on the lighter side of his natural weight so he can be more evasive. As we all know though this gets harder the older you get….! 😓
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Oh I agree he played better when he was smaller, I was just pointing out he was looking physically good 😅
 
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