I’m a Newcastle Knights supporter, and reading the papers as Wayne Bennett finally took over as coach last week I initially thought Pope Benedict XVI had passed, and that Mr Bennett had been selected to replace him.
Moreover, one could have been forgiven for thinking that the Knights were taking their first step towards an era of domination and glory which even Andrew Johns could not have delivered.
Think Manchester United in the Sir Alex Ferguson era (or, indeed, the Brisbane Broncos in the Wayne Bennett era). This is the hype around the Knights as they approach the coming season.
On the surface, the Knights appear to have swept all before them in the player transfer stakes, in preparation for the coming season. However while the new signings sound impressive, closer examination may remove some of the polish, and suggest a more cynical motivation on behalf of the ownership.
This analysis suggests to me that Bennett’s job may not be so simple.
Darius Boyd is a superstar of the game, and there is no doubt as to his class. Once a quick winger and expert finisher, he is now a well-rounded fullback capable of huge influence coming up into the line. Despite the fact that the fullback the Knights have had the last few seasons is himself pretty useful, Boyd will add the class the Knights desperately need in attack.
However the credentials of Kade Snowden, apparently the NRL’s only $400,000 prop, are far less certain. Much chatter surrounds Snowden, and he is unquestionably physically imposing and hard to handle. However he is untested as a leader of a forward pack.
In his one State of Origin appearance this year (the second of his career) I watched him closely, as the media had repeatedly touted that his return to Newcastle was likely. What I saw was a rampaging young prop asserting his right to play on the big occasion. But it wasn’t Kade Snowden, it was Matt Scott, who along with Petero Civoniceva belted Snowden and his New South Wales comrades into submission.
While it is true that he lacked support, Snowden appeared out of his class. While this fact does not condemn him to mediocrity, it does condemn the idea that he is such a proven performer as to warrant $400,000 per year for his labours. It seems the fact that he is a returning Newcastle boy was worth about $150,000 in addition to his real value.
Danny Buderus is one of the greats in the Knights’ history, he arguably sits behind only Johns. However his last game in the NRL was in 2009. By then the natural decline which all sportsmen (Shane Warne and Lance Armstrong possibly aside) must face had set in. Two years in the far less fast and intense English Super League, in which he rarely played 80 minutes has since passed.
By the time of round one 2012, his 34th birthday will also have ticked over. Even assuming he is able to play at anywhere approaching his previous level, he will only be able to do so for one year, maybe two at a stretch.
What happens then? I know it is heresy for a Knights fan to question the messianic qualities of Danny Buderus. However I suspect that, like Snowden, his appeal to the management has more to do with his appeal to the emotions of the fans than his ability to give the Knights the direction and pace out of dummy half they need.
The same must be said of Timana Tahu, who has played a handful of NRL games in two injury-wracked years, and has repeatedly showed issues of temperament.
At 31 it appears his finest days are in his past; his days as a robust and speedy outside back are so distant that he was deployed as a back rower for Penrith last year in the few games prior to his season-ending injury.
In signing the likes of Buderus, Tahu and Snowden for the sake of appeasing the ‘Our Town, Our Team’ brigade, the Knights have failed to address their biggest issues: lack of pace in the three-quarter line (apart from Akuila Uate), and lack of consistent direction and quality in the halves.
Bringing together the class of 2001 does not address these issues. While it might rocket the Knights up the membership ladder, these aren’t the rankings which determine who plays in September.
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