Newcastle Knights season review, problems, players to target, analysis, Kalyn Ponga, Jack Cogger, Phoenix Crossland, Jackson Hastings, Tyson Gamble #adessonews

The Knights need to settle on a spine and find another playmaker capable of taking the pressure off Kalyn Ponga having to do it all if they want to push for the title.

While Newcastle made the finals for the fourth time in five years under Adam O’Brien, and led 12-4, they bowed out in the first week of the finals after squeaking into the top eight with a last-round win over the Dolphins.

The Knights have been labelled a one man team and while that is unfair on the other members of the squad, it is impossible to over-estimate the importance of Ponga to their attack.

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The Knights used 11 different halves combinations in 2024 and have a plethora of halfback options in Phoenix Crossland, Jack Cogger and Jackson Hastings on their books.

However, Cooper Cronk believes the Knights need to find another running threat at five-eighth to ease the pressure on Ponga in attack.

“It’s a tough question, but I think they obviously can’t go to market at this time and find someone unless there’s someone available we don’t know about,” Cronk said of the halves dilemma.

“But I think Cogger’s probably got enough of the fundamentals of a No.7 to be the organising, ball playing, majority kicking game player.

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“But I think they need more of a running threat than Kalyn Ponga.

“If I was Adam O’Brien, I’m probably going Cogger at No.7 and then finding someone a little bit dynamic that can run the football at No.6.

“Not like a fullback in Kalyn, but just someone who can add a point of difference on the other side.”

Corey Parker believes the Knights will struggle to sign a new half unless they can offload out of favour halfback Hastings amid their salary cap issues.

“It’s going to be difficult because they have still got Hastings there, who’s on a lot of money,” Parker said.

“So unless they can offload him and go to market and find someone like you’re saying it’s going to be difficult.”

However, Mal Meninga believes the Knights could already have the right five-eighth on their books, if they can improve his defence over the off-season.

“They have got Will Pryce so obviously he can run the footy, but he’s got some defensive frailties at the moment,” Meninga said.

“Obviously that’s why Adam’s not playing him, so maybe with another off-season behind him and more training sessions, they might be able to toughen him up and get him more used to the defensive side of the game because he’s certainly skilful.

“He can certainly run the ball. He’s got a great kicking game and he’s smart, so maybe he’s the answer. It probably just takes another off-season for him.”

The Knights again built their season on toughness in defence and had their chances to advance to the semi-finals against the Cowboys.

“You talk about DNA as a football side and this is the Newcastle Knights, they go by this working style mentality,” Parker said.

“They delivered and they went after the North Queensland Cowboys in that first half. They went after them with physicality. The ball in play, the referee just allowed it to flow.

“There was plenty of fatigue and they didn’t go away. It was it was a terrific game of football.”

Cronk believes Ponga can be the best player in the game, but that still might not be enough to win the Knights a first title since 2001.

“I think he did it all,” Cronk said of Ponga’s performance against the Cowboys.

“We asked for help for Kalyn before it, but it was basically just give Kalyn the ball and he’ll dominate. He was that good.

“I really like the mindset that Kalyn was in for this game. He was dialled in a bit like Munster. He didn’t wait for the game to come to him. He took it on.

“He came up with a couple of plays that gave his team a chance. That last one with Reuben Cotter if he had of moved his line slightly he probably gets there and saves it.

“But I’ll tell you what when this guy puts it together, he’s in the conversation for the best player in the competition.

“When he consistently does it like at the back end of last year. He’s done it for Queensland a couple of times. The back end of this year. He’s shown glimpses where he can literally dominate by himself.”

Meninga believes the Knights need to find a way to score more points given they were second last in that category in 2024.

“The Knights only got into the opposition’s 20 three times and they scored three tries, so that tells you a little bit about where they need to be,” Meninga said.

“They just need to get back down into the attacking zone so Kalyn can work his magic. I know he can work it from back in yardage sets and things like that, but because they can’t get down there often enough, they’re not scoring enough points.

“That’s been there their Achilles heel all year. They came 16th with the amount of points they score, so they need to get down in the opposition’s 20 and that’s where Kalyn becomes extremely dangerous.”

Despite falling two weeks short of where they finished in 2023, the Knights still came within a couple of plays of the semi-finals in 2024.

Ponga skipped through a gap and had unmarked players that could have given them a 22-16 lead late in the game.

“That’s the moment there he knew he missed that pass to Gagai,” Cronk said.

“16-all 10 minutes to go. He’s been a great player for the game so far. He broke through on the outside of Dearden, had Gamble on the inside, Gagai on the outside and that pass had to be caught by Gagai.

“He went straight through. This is game time here. It’s catchable from Gagai, but Ponga also knows that if he had just got it a little bit better than that, the Knights are probably in pole position to go through.”

Parker believes the Knights will be ruing some missed opportunities against the Cowboys that could have changed the course of their finals campaign.

“It’s about inches of moments and opportunities, but boy that was catchable,” Parker said. “There was another opportunity a little later in the game where Saifiti went through late in the game and Gagai wasn’t there also and they come back haunt you. The what ifs what if I was there? What if I actually did something different?

“You can’t change the result, but you stew on those moments for a while and unfortunately, it’s going to be until Round 1 next year.”

RECORD: 8th, 30 points (12 wins, 12 losses)

GRADE: B+

WHAT WENT RIGHT:

The Knights did well to reach their fourth finals series in five years under Adam O’Brien, but just like last year it was on the back of a stunning turnaround in the back half of the year. The Knights won just two of their first seven games, before winning four in a row before their first bye in Round 12. They then lost three in a row before their next bye in Round 16, before winning two of four before their third bye in Round 21. The Knights had to win four of their last five games, including a win over the Dolphins in the final round to sneak into the top eight at the last hurdle. The Knights again rode the brilliance of Ponga in 2024, but ultimately he can’t do it all if they want to push for a first title since 2001. Luckily, they had a couple of players emerge in 2024 including flyer Fletcher Sharpe, prop Leo Thompson and second-rower Dylan Lucas, who could all be stars of the future. Phoenix Crossland emerged as a potential solution at halfback, but he may need to return to hooker next season with the Knights set to offload injury prone No.9 Jayden Brailey. Bradman Best had another strong year and starred in the Origin arena, but his history with injuries is a concern given he missed the crucial final against the Cowboys and could have been a real difference maker. Best has played over 17 games in a season just once in his six seasons. Dane Gagai also had a strong year and returned to the Origin arena, but his future is also uncertain amid the salary cap squeeze. Tyson Frizell also had a strong season in the back row and Kai Pearce-Paul showed glimpses of what he can do in a breakout season.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

The Knights’ inconsistency was in part due to the fact they used 11 different halves pairings, with incumbents Tyson Gamble and Jackson Hastings falling out of favour over the course of the year. Phoenix Crossland at No.7 and Jack Cogger at No.6 finished the season in the halves, but the jury is out if they are the long-term answer in the playmaking department. Hurting their chances going forward is the fact the Knights have salary cap issues, with a number of players including Daniel Saifiti and Adam Elliott potentially leaving the club. How the Knights balance their books while putting more pieces around Ponga will be crucial to their chances of challenging going forward. Until they find more attacking threats to ease the pressure on Ponga, the Knights will be a mid-table team that struggles to match the elite sides deep in the finals. Unfortunately, the Knights have no new signings for 2025 as yet, as they aim to offload some big money stars to create salary cap space. Their slow start to the season ultimately cost them any chance of a top four finish and until they find consistency across the 27 round regular season, they won’t be a genuine threat come finals time. Unfortunately, the fact they are set to offload a number of players due to salary cap pressure means they could look worse on paper by the time 2025 kicks off, which means they will be an unknown quantity next season, unless they can unleash some new players to support Ponga.

COMING: N/A

GOING: Myles Martin (Raiders), David Armstrong (Leigh).