Knights need a massive changes...
New coach - Shane Flanagan
Assistants - John Morris / Buderus
New Halves - Munster and Flanno (they don't get Munster imo they are ducked for years to come)
CTW - need to replace Gagai and find a new left wing
Edge backrowers: they need x 2 new ones as Frizzell is done there and needs to be in the middle. This creates a dilemma though as Elliot's best position is lock.
14. Mann has been there before and seems most likely, but for a team that seems to rely heavily on their forwards, not having a zippy hooker on the bench like Starling seems odd.
Either way they are stuck in a denial phase and don't think they need a rebuild.
I don’t think any club wants Flanno as a coach, for obvious reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were looking at Mick Lantry,
he came close to getting the gig in 2017, but you never really know.
For assistant coaches, defence, I think the Knights are looking at reserve grade coach Mark O’Meley and former reserve grade
coach now coaching South Newcastle, Andrew Ryan: The attack coach, I have no idea, but Joey Johns will play a bigger role there
next year I believe.
They’ve got plenty of good forwards, Leo Thompson is going to be a quality player after his first year of RL after switching from Union,
I think the Knights have a second-row spot lined up for him after a second pre-season of RL. And I think Brodie Jones could still be a
good second rower when he gets over his injuries and I know the Knights rate Ben Talty.
Bradman Best is a class centre, if he would stop breaking bones and Dom Young is a centre, not a winger and Gagai is a winger,
not a centre. And there’s a couple of really good prospects in Dylan Lucas and Chris Vea’ila.
Halves are the problem, as they are for a lot of clubs, but nobody wants Kyle Flanagan.
The Knights are still interested in Luke Brookes and it may be the case that a change of club would be the best thing
for him under Andrew Johns.
Jake Clifford was playing well at 5/8 until he had personal issues at home and took time off the game.
And Simi Sasagi has always been a 5/8 but they’ve played him everywhere except 5/8.
And I’d love to see Bailey Hodgson get a crack, if he can stop breaking his elbow. He could go well at half back.
Ponga is an elite fullback, if he can stay on the field and stop getting head knocks. Jayden Brailey is a quality hooker,
but has missed almost two full seasons in the past three years with an ACL and then his achilles tendon.
The Knights problems are their halves and their coach.
One other huge problem the club have had since The Wests Group took over is that while Wests Group CEO Philip Gardner
is one of the best leagues club administrators around, he knows jack shit about running a football team. The addition of
Peter Parr as Director of Football this week solves that problem.
Cheers,
RW.