The Newcastle Knights are just one of many sides that will be glad to see the back of 2014.
They finished the NRL in 12th position and struggled badly through the early parts of the season, however they finished 2014 with a bang, winning eight of their final 11 games.
Hopefully the can take that good momentum and carry it forward into 2015. Of course they also had the terrible accident with Alex McKinnon around the middle of the season and this must have shook the side up dreadfully.
They will be hoping that 2015, with new coach Rick Stone replacing Wayne Bennett, will be their year.
Pre-season fixtures
Jan 31 – Feb 1: Auckland Nines versus Parramatta Eels, Manly Sea Eagles, St George Illawarra Dragons
Feb 21: versus Canberra Raiders versus Seiffert Oval
The Knights pre–season looks incredibly bare, as apart from the Auckland Nines they only have one hit out to test themselves, which compared to all the other clubs in the NRL is very little. While the Knights finished very strongly at the end of the 2014 season, they still finished down the bottom end of the table, and the early exchanges in 2015 are going to be very important for the club.
With a new coach and the need to form some new game plans with some new combinations running around on the field, one trial against the Canberra Raiders just doesn’t seem like it will be enough for Newcastle to get themselves ready for Round 1. However, it could work in their favour, as they could be the freshest team come the end of the season.
Either way the trial will be an important one and Rick Stone will need to get his troops playing top footy from the get go instead of having a couple of games to work into it.
Ins and outs
2015 gains
Jack Cogger (2016), Brock Lamb (2017), Sam Mataora (mid-season: Canberra Raiders, 2017), Tariq Sims (North Queensland Cowboys, 2016), Jack Stockwell (St George Illawarra Dragons, 2017), James Taylor (mid-season: New Zealand Warriors, 2016), Carlos Tuimavave (New Zealand Warriors, 2016).
2015 Losses
Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos), Adam Cuthbertson (Leeds Rhinos), Michael Dobson (Salford Red Devils), Matt Hilder (retired), Josh Mantellato (Hull Kingston Rovers), Willie Mason (Manly Sea Eagles), Matt Minto (QueenslandCup), Chance Peni (Wests Tigers), Timana Tahu (retired), Travis Waddell (Brisbane Broncos), Brayden Wiliame (Manly Sea Eagles).
The Knights have not done too badly in the recruitment field for 2015, considering they are losing Wayne Bennett to Brisbane. Last time Bennett left a club, it was the St George Illawarra Dragons and it seemed like half of the team went with him. Admittedly Wayne hasn’t had the same success in charge of the Knights as he did the Dragons but to only lose two players – Darius Boys and Travis Waddell – speaks volumes of the Knights as a club.
Other losses include Adam Cuthberson, who could prove to be a bad loss, and Willie Mason, who could prove to be another bad loss for the Knights. The Knights have, however, acquired a couple of what could prove to be very valuable players to their roster.
Tariq Sims undoubtedly headlines their recruitment as the hard hitter makes the moves to the Knights from the North Queensland Cowboys. Jack Stockwell is also quite a promising young forward and Carlos Tuimavave along with Sam Mataora also come to the Knights.
Could they be the missing links the Knights are after? I suspect not but with time and some more good recruitment next year, Newcastle could be well on the way up.
Draw Analysis
After their very strong finish to the 2014 NRL season, there is no question that the Newcastle Knights will want to start the 2015 season in similar fashion, and so will no doubt be looking at the first six to eight rounds as the most important part of their draw to build and carry on from where they left off last season.
They start the season with a mix of games, but more of their first eight rounds are against teams who missed the top eight last season. Their first three games are going to be monstrously important as they play the New Zealand Warriors at home followed by the North Queensland Cowboys and the Gold Coast Titans on the road. By no means an easy start to the season, but all winnable games.
From the period of Round 7 through to Round 15 the Knights will play six out of their eight games at Hunter Stadium with a bye and only two away games in the middle of it all. During this period they will also play the Parramatta Eels, Canberra Raiders, Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks, making this a massive part of the draw for Newcastle especially if they fail in the early part of the season.
The Knights’ run home is one of the hardest in the comp which does them no favours whatsoever. Within the last seven rounds of the competition they play the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm, Canterbury Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers. If the Knights are going to make the top eight there is no question they will need to be up the top of the ladder after the first half of the season.
The teams the Knights play twice in 2015 are the New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, St George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers, Canberra Raiders, Wests Tigers, Cronulla Sharks, Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans. This is certainly not the easiest list of teams to play twice in this year’s draw but it certainly won’t be the hardest.
Predicted impact of State of Origin
With the loss of Darius Boyd to the Brisbane Broncos, it is hard to see exactly where the Knights will be providing any players for the 2015 State of Origin squads. There is always the possibility of a Kurt Gidley selection but that seems highly unlikely. Beau Scott and James Mcmanus could be in with a chance along with any of the Mata’utia boys.
Tariq Sims is also in with a chance at Origin if he starts the season strongly. So currently the impact of State of Origin is not that high, but if the Knights have a strong start to the season that impact could suddenly skyrocket.
Predicted finish and final word
The Knights are one of those teams where it’s hard to predict what is exactly going to happen. With a new coach and coming off the end of last season they could have a brilliant season, however I’ll tip them to just miss out on the top eight.
Season Fixtures
R1 Sat 07 Mar 2015, 4:30pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Warriors
R2 Sat 14 Mar 2015, 10:00pm, 1300 Smiles Stadium Cowboys V Knights
R3 Sun 22 Mar 2015, 7:30pm, Cbus Super Stadium Titans V Knights
R4 Sat 28 Mar 2015, 3:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Panthers
R5 Sat 04 Apr 2015, 7:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Dragons
R6 Fri 10 Apr 2015, 6:35pm, Remondis Stadium Sharks V Knights
R7 Sun 19 Apr 2015, 3:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Eels
R8 Sat 25 Apr 2015, 1:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Cowboys
R9 Sun 10 May 2015, 1:00pm, Brookvale Oval Sea Eagles V Knights
R10 Sun 17 May 2015, 3:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Wests Tigers
R11 Mon 25 May 2015, 6:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Broncos
R12 Sun 31 May 2015, 11:00am, Mt Smart Stadium Warriors V Knights
R13 Sat 06 Jun 2015, 2:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Raiders
R15 Sun 21 Jun 2015, 1:00pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Sharks
R16 Fri 26 Jun 2015, 7:35pm, Suncorp Stadium Broncos V Knights
R18 Fri 10 Jul 2015, 6:45pm, GIO Stadium Raiders V Knights
R19 Sat 18 Jul 2015, 4:30pm, Hunter Stadium Knights V Titans
R20 Sat 25 Jul 2015, 4:30pm, ANZ Stadium Rabbitohs V Knights
R21 TBC, Jubilee Oval Dragons V Knights
R22 TBC, Hunter Stadium Knights V Roosters
R23 TBC, Campbelltown Stadium Wests Tigers V Knights
R24 TBC, AAMI Park Storm V Knights
R25 TBC, Hunter Stadium Knights V Bulldogs
R26 TBC, Sportingbet Stadium Panthers V Knights
The Warriors sunk to their third straight loss on Sunday against the Knights after having two tries controversially disallowed in the wet at Newcastle.…
I’m sorry Newcastle, but this won’t be your year. Unless your whole approach can change. Kalyn Ponga’s Lisfranc injury may have cost him 12…
The St George Illawarra revival is now prompting a question that was on nobody’s radar heading into the 2024 season - can the Dragons…
Jack Hetherington could face sanctions from the NRL after vision emerged of the fiery Newcastle forward appearing to throw a punch at Bulldogs hooker…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
1. Manu is not No.1 at Roosters Everyone knows Joey Manu is a really good fullback. He’s probably in the top five in the…
