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It’s the hottest halves market in years, with Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden having kicked off what looks set to be a merry-go-round of sixes and sevens making moves.
Souths premiership-winner Adam Reynolds is the best available prospect, although others able to field offers for 2022 include Mitch Moses, Shaun Johnson, Matt Moylan, Scott Drinkwater, Ash Taylor, Corey Norman, Benji Marshall, Anthony Milford, Kodi Nikorima, Kieran Foran, Tyrone May and Sam Walker.
Easily forgotten given the galaxy of stars – be they established, on the wane or yet to prove how brightly they can shine – listed above is Kurt Mann.
It’s not really all that crazy that Mann is overlooked when people rattle off all the halves on the market, with the Newcastle No.6 having been recruited to the Knights as an option at hooker, although he came from St George Illawarra where he had generally played at centre.
However, Nathan Brown’s play to make Mann a 9 was turfed ahead of the 2020 season, with new coach Adam O’Brien giving the Queenslander first crack at being Newcastle’s long-term five-eighth.
He was making a decent fist of it too until injuries forced him to move to dummy-half, where he played the back-end of the season. It was a selfless move and one that likely cost him the club’s best and fairest award for the year, such had been the quality of his play in the halves.
This year, however, Mann is back in the halves, and has again been among the club’s most consistent players, notably setting up his side’s sole try in Thursday’s loss to Penrith.
As for where he’ll play next year, well that’s sort of tricky.
Because the Knights appear to have decided that the future of the team in the halves is Jake Clifford and – certainly for 2022 at least – Mitchell Pearce, with both having been locked down for next year a number of months ago.
Also in the red and blue top 30 for this year are up-and-coming halves Simi Sasagi and Phoenix Crossland, as well as Tex Hoy, who it is believed could make the move to the halves since he’s unlikely to nail down his preferred position of fullback as long as Kalyn Ponga is in town.
Although on that front, the ‘Ponga to six’ discussion is always bubbling away, with more than a few people suggesting the Knights would be better suited seeing KP get his hands on the ball more often.
Plus, apparently Bailey Hodgson is going to be the next big English import to take the NRL by storm and his preferred spot is at the back.
That means Newcastle have got Pearce, Clifford, Mann, Sasagi, Crossland, Hoy and possibly Ponga fighting for two halves spots. And, given the size of their paycheques, you would think Pearce and Clifford are guaranteed first crack.
Where does that leave Mann?
He could revert to the role of 14, for which he is well suited, given he can play just about every position on the field. However, although he wears the 13 jersey week-in, week-out, Connor Watson has been starting off the bench more often than not and has absolutely flourished under the new rules.
(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)
‘Ball-playing lock’ is the way he’s being described, although that’s because it’s what we’ve always called a small man in the middle of the field, when in reality Watson might give the odd show-and-go but surely I’m not the only person who’s worked out by now that he’s under strict instruction not to pass the ball.
Really neither here nor there I guess, but if you’ve got Watson in the middle, you’re not likely to also carry Mann at 14.
Mann could go back to the original plan of playing at hooker but Jayden Brailey has been another of Newcastle’s best this season, getting through a mountain of defensive work – he’s leading the comp with 385 tackles at 96 per cent efficiency so far – as well as developing into a dangerous attacking option. Plus the 25-year-old is one of the club captains.
The only way Mann gets another crack at 9 is through injury.
So he’s in a seven-way battle to play in the halves, is unlikely to be the club’s preferred 14 and would only be considered an injury cover at hooker.
It’s not exactly an enviable position, particularly for a player who has been among his club’s best for the past two seasons.
Any other year, you would think another club would have come knocking by now, having seen Mann’s commitment and skill on a consistent basis.
But as evidenced by the long, long list of available halves off contract, this is not a good year to be a middle-tier six without a deal for next season.
Ultimately, you would think this means Newcastle remain in the box seat to retain his services – and they’d be mad not to, if for no other reason than the Knights ain’t the Knights if there isn’t a guy named Kurt in the team.
But whether Mann wants to go back to being considered a squad-depth player when he has done such an admirable job of becoming a full-time five-eighth remains to be seen.
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