“I believe that Bennett stands somewhere below Jack Gibson, which is somewhere just above God.” – Roy Masters
The living legend Wayne Bennett missed the finals last season for the first time in 21 years. It would be a brave man to suggest that ‘god’ will not guide his Newcastle Knights into the top eight in 2013.
We are talking about a man who won six grand finals with the Broncos and then set a coaching record when he won the big one with the Dragons.
Not only has he won seven premierships but he has a 100% grand final strike rate, seven from seven, which underlines his amazing ability to get his players up when it really counts.
It is virtually impossible for any club to play in the finals in the modern era when they lose their most dominant player and leader as the Knights did with Kurt Gidley last season.
They could only manage 10 wins from the 24 games, finishing a disappointing 12th, but the good news is Kurt is back and Bennett has bolstered his pack with some of the toughest forwards in the NRL.
They have no excuses this time.
Despite the injection of a fit and fresh Kurt Gidley and off season recruits in Beau Scott (Dragons), Jeremy Smith (Sharks), David Fa’alogo (Huddesfield), Mitchell Frei (Broncos), ‘BJ’ Leilua (Roosters), Anthony Quinn (Storm) and Travis Waddell (Raiders), my ratings still have the Knights only a borderline chance to play in the semis.
The Knights should fight out positions seventh and eighth with the Raiders, Sharks and Sea Eagles, which will not be easy given the log jam, but those other clubs do not have Wayne Bennett.
Gidley is one of the fittest and most competitive players in the world and his presence will be invaluable, along with club champion Danny Buderus. But as good as they are, they still do not have natural organising halfback skills.
The Knights will win plenty of games because of their highly experienced spine in Darius Boyd, Jarrod Mullen, Gidley and Buderus, but their major problem last year was key decision making when in the opposition ten metre line.
It is debatable if Gidley will enhance that, as he is more of a worker than a creator of tries, and Mullen is more comfortable as a runner, although he has a wonderful fast pass before the line on both sides of the field.
The other concern I have with the Knights is their new so called strength, their tough, no nonsense, take no prisoners forwards.
No doubt you would not like to run into Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott, Neville Costigan, Willie Mason or David Fa’alongo in a dark alley, but they are not likely to worry the opposition when they have the ball.
The Knights appear to lack genuine edge runners and Bennett has clearly put all the responsibility on his star backline to make the breaks and score the tries.
We saw his left centre Timana Tahu play lock forward in the recent All Stars match and although new chum BJ Leilua only played in the backline for the Roosters, he is built like a forward and it will be fascinating what Bennett does to inject pace at the expense of defence.
The other problem for the Knights is another ‘strength’ in hooker Danny Buderus, who has just ticked over 35 years and is struggling with injuries. He has lost his pace and now is unlikely to bust tackles and make breaks but his leadership is crucial.
Without Danny, the Knights have the talented Adam Clydsdale but he may not be ready, while Matt Hilder can fill in, as can Gidley, which would mean Tyrone Roberts coming into 7.
Staking plan: The Knights are rock bottom and prefer to re-access when Buderus is back.
Likely starting 13 for round one.
1. Darius Boyd
2. Akuila Uate
3. Timana Tahu
4. Dane Gagai
5. Kevin Naiqama
6. Jarrod Mullen
7. Kurt Gidley
8. Willie Mason
9. Matt Hilder
10. Kade Snowden
11. Nev Costigan
12. Beau Scott
13. Jeremy Smith
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