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Here we are again. Another NRL season and another awful Newcastle season looms. After achieving the honour of winning back-to-back wooden spoons in 2016, the Knights had to change, and change they did.
They cut a bunch of useless, injury prone and overpaid players and replaced them with other players who, while cheaper, are probably only slight improvements.
But then again, if your NRL side is about as solid as an ice-cream that was left outside for two hours in the middle of January, then any change is positive.
The one pleasing aspect about Newcastle’s 2016 is that it is hard to do worse this year. They won a single game against the Tigers because Korbin Sims kicked a second ball to cause a distraction.
Not only will it be hard for the Knights to disappoint, it will be easy for them to overachieve since coming second last would be considered an overachievement for this ragtag group of youngsters.
Strengths
I really am racking my brain to think of strengths for this side, but I am struggling as much as Newcastle will this year. However, the starting second row of Jamie Buhrer, Mitch Barnett and Sione Mata’utia has potential.
Buhrer is the sort of quality player that Newcastle needed, while Barnett has a ton of promise and Mata’utia was pretty decent in the second row last year. In the off-season, he has buffed up to a ridiculous level.
What else? Well, Nathan Ross and Dane Gagai are both decent players and Daniel Levi will develop into an amazing dummy-half at some stage.
But that is it for strengths.
Weaknesses
There is no one that stands out in this side. It is just a bunch of middling to decent footballers, with no one amazing enough to really win them games.
If Newcastle is by two points with a minute to go, who can really step up? Rookie Brock Lamb? Walking injury Trent Hodkinson? Or Gagai, who really is only at fullback for a lack of better options?
Furthermore to the Knights’ problems, Gagai is the only one on the list to have played at least 100 games for Newcastle. Everyone else in this side is either from another club or inexperienced.
This means that it will be hard for this side to really gel since they haven’t played together much.
Also, Newcastle’s props suck harder than a turbo-charged vacuum cleaner. They are either incredibly young guys like Josh King or average players like Josh Starling. It just isn’t a good side.
There is no one in this spine who can break a game open like your Thurstons and your Maloneys. And yes, while Newcastle did sign Kalyn Ponga who has this kind of spark, he is still a whole season away.
Summary
No one should be shocked that I believe Newcastle will come last this year. I challenge anyone that believes they won’t be last to tell me why.
Before you say ‘the Titans last year made the eight when everyone thought they would come last’, the only reason they didn’t come last was because the stars aligned and everything went perfectly for them.
This won’t happen again.
Yet, Newcastle will improve in 2017, so maybe in 2018 they can actually aim for a position higher than the bottom four.
But for now, it looks like a third spoon in a row can be added to that trophy cabinet.
2016 finish: 16th
Predicted 2017 finish: 16th
Transfers
Gains: Jamie Buhrer, Rory Kostjasyn, Ken Sio, Josh Starling, Jacob Gagan, Joe Wardle and Anthony Tupou.
Losses: Jeremy Smith, James McManus, Kade Snowden, Robbie Rochow, Akuila Uate, Jake Mamo, and Korbin Sims. Additionally, Jarrod Mullen is currently serving a provisional suspension.
Full-strength team
1. Dane Gagai
2. Ken Sio
3. Nathan Ross
4. Pat Mata’utia
5. Chanel Mata’utia
6. Brock Lamb
7. Trent Hodkinson
8. Daniel Saifiti
9. Daniel Levi
10. Sam Mataora
11. Mitch Barnett
12. Sione Mata’utia
13. Jamie Buhrer
14. Rory Kostjasyn
15. Jacob Saifiti
16. Josh Starling
17. Josh King
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