Newcastle Knights: Trouble in the kingdom?

A brilliant and somewhat unexpected finals run late in 2013 filled Novocastrians with optimism heading into the offseason. However, nine games into the 2014 NRL season, all is not well in Newcastle.

On the weekend, I bore witness to one of the worst home games I have attended in 15 years of being a season ticket holder.

The Knights have managed only two wins from their first nine games, one of which came against a severely under-strength Cronulla Sharks outfit at home.

Our start to the season is reminiscent of the 2005 campaign, where we lost the first 13 games, eventually collecting our one and only wooden spoon at season’s end. Unlike 2005, we do not have Andrew Johns to come back and save us from complete embarrassment.

So what has gone wrong?

Obviously, the devastating injury to club favourite Alex McKinnon cut the playing group and coaching staff to the core. While the club has rallied and dedicated their season to Alex, the mental effect cannot be overlooked. The nature of the awful injury would be in the back of their minds every game, as well as being mentally exhausted from continuously using it as motivation.

While Alex’s injury is a tragedy and a long-term loss for the Knights, other injuries and absentees have taken their toll. Playmaker and leader Jarrod Mullen’s absence hurt our structure and execution early in the season. Our engine room has suffered continual losses, culminating in an abysmal display against Penrith on the weekend.

Missing Willie Mason (suspension), Korbin Sims (suspension), Zane Tetevano (dropped for disciplinary reasons) and Jeremy Smith (injury) left us with as much grunt upfront as the under 10s on the field at half time.

While debutants Joseph Tapine and Pat Vai Vai performed admirably, both saw limited minutes, resulting in an imbalanced rotation and our starters struggling with the duty of extra minutes. This was evidenced when Kade Snowden, who is not renowned for winding up and sprinting into defences at the best of times, literally walked the ball forward, epitomising our overall pace and power during the game.

Off the field, we are in turmoil too. Nathan Tinkler’s demise has led to an alarming ownership issue, which is yet to be resolved. The Newcastle Herald reports, “it is believed the game’s governing body was concerned about HSG’s capacity to continue funding the Knights since commissioning an independent audit, which is rumoured to have uncovered liabilities nearing $20 million.”

As well as this debacle, there were early-season rumours of third party payments not being delivered to Darius Boyd (not that he deserves it, but we will explore that later).

Through all this turmoil, keep in mind that the players read the paper too, and hear about issues inside the club which fans do not. It is quite plausible that this off-field drama is affecting their on-field performance, but as fans we can only speculate.

Wayne Bennett, the ‘supercoach’, has begun to be questioned by the Knights faithful. Bennett has failed to deliver in his tenure thus far, leading to some fans questioning his big-money deal. Others trust his experience and judgement, continuing to declare “In Wayne we trust”.

This debate draws parallels with my English football club Arsenal and their manager, Arsene Wenger. Both Bennett and Wenger are strikingly similar, well-respected around their leagues. They have both been highly successful – but in the past.

Fans are divided about Wenger’s tactics and some believe them to be outdated, an idea that is beginning to gain momentum among Knights fans regarding Bennett. People argue that the game has evolved, while he has not, and must change if they are to continue winning.

This is also applicable to Bennett’s recruitment and selection policy, where he tends to stick to familiar players (such as Boyd, Jeremy Smith and Adam Cuthbertson). I leave this to the readers – does he need to evolve? Change his strategy or selection and recruitment policy?

Any of these reasons could have been the catalyst for the season’s sub-par start. It could also be quite simply a lack of effort.

Darius Boyd frustrates most Knights fans, as he only plays with heart wearing the maroon or the green and gold. When playing for the Knights, he seems to retreat into a shell, shows little effort and hustle. Maybe he is suited to a wing spot, or maybe he hasn’t bought into the Knights culture.

According to Contributor Value Ratings (CVR) system provided by NRL Stats, Boyd is ranked the 17th-best fullback in the NRL this season. Whatever reason, fans have started to believe he only came for the money.

Other members of the squad are nearing or past their use-by date. Kurt Gidley has given his heart and soul for the club, a tremendous clubman and a jack of all trades (and as some fans say, master of none), but the Knights have looked far more dangerous when youngster Adam Clydsdale is on the field, sharper out of dummy half and firmer in defence.

Chris Houston has been below first grade level for some time now, sloppy in defence and often with the ball. I would love for Joseph Tapine to be in front of him in first grade selection.

Maybe we need to return to giving local talent a go, utilise what is one of the best junior rugby league nurseries in the country, or perhaps change our recruitment strategy.

Something is not right in the kingdom and it needs to be fixed. Years of mediocrity, questionable recruiting and broken promises have led to fans becoming disheartened and restless.

This fan hopes that the glory of the 1997 and 2001 seasons return to the Hunter, a once proud rugby-league heartland. We Knights fans deserve a winning team, and at the very least a team that from 1-17 shows pride in the red and blue jersey.