The true extent of Knights' rebuild revealed

A lot has been said recently in regards to recruitment at the Newcastle Knights.

The team showed signs of improvement last year, climbing off the bottom of the ladder, and there’s no doubt their roster will be boosted by some new faces.

But the proof, as always, will be in the pudding, which just happens to come in a Roosters or Storm-shaped bowl. How the Knights fare against these two foes will provide a decent indication of how Nathan Brown’s rebuild is progressing.

Melbourne and Sydney have long been the benchmark for the NRL, and Newcastle must aim to emulate their consistency if they’re any chance of being around at the business end of the season.

The Knights have some time to work their combinations, with matches against the Roosters and Storm set for Rounds 11 and 14. But the Novocastrians’ most interesting matchup for 2019 is themselves – well, the 2016 version of themselves.

Round 1, 2016 was Brown’s first game in charge, in a season where his side would register a solitary win.

Let’s take a look at how the two sides line up:

Unless you’re a Knights fan, it’s easy to forget just how terrible the 2016 team was – filled with fringe first-graders, former rep players at the end of their careers, and a halfback on one leg. It’s no wonder they performed so poorly.

The interesting thing about this matchup is that only one player, Daniel Saifiti, from Round 1 2016 is likely to get a run in Round 1 2019.

Newcastle Knights player Daniel Saifiti. (Photo: Joe Frost)

In fact, the only other player that could conceivably make the first 17 next year would be Dane Gagai, and even he would face stiff competition were he still in the red and blue.

On paper at least, the Knights look a far more formidable outfit than three years ago. They’ve got size up front, speed out the back and a few freakishly talented ballplayers calling the shots. In just about every position, Brown has made some serious upgrades.

And they may yet strengthen this squad. Last week, each club submitted their rosters to the NRL, with the Knights registering only the minimum 24 players, the fewest of any club. Since then, they’ve announced the signings of Mason Lino, James Gavet and Hymel Hunt, and the likely inclusion of David Klemmer will leave them with two positions still vacant on their 30-man roster.

However, the improvement in the roster brings with it an increase in expectations. Brown has two wooden spoons and an 11th place at the club, and while each season has shown improvement from the year before, anything less than a top-eight finish in 2019 will be seen as a failure.

So the Knights need to win more games than they lose – a feat only achieved once in the past ten seasons.

while the transformation in the roster over the past three seasons may be the NRL equivalent of turning water into wine, Knights fans will be hoping Brown can complete the Newcastle Knights’ resurrection.