UNBELIEVABLE as it may seem, Newcastle are set to kick off the 2017 NRL season with less experience across the board than in round one last year.
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Despite Knights coach Nathan Brown insisting last week that “we’re in a far better situation than we were this time last year”, a quick calculation of career games highlights an alarming lack of senior players.
Newcastle fielded five debutants in last year’s season-opening loss to Gold Coast, but their remaining players had appeared in a combined total of 1144 games.
Twelve months on, Brown’s line-up for the round-one clash with the Warriors in Auckland on March 5 appears unlikely to come close to matching that figure, unless the Knights can belatedly bolster their roster.
A possible side, based on players who are expected to be available, have collectively appeared in fewer than 900 NRL games.
In comparison, the Cronulla squad who won last season’s grand final had racked up 2761 games between them.
Since news broke nine days ago that veteran playmaker Jarrod Mullen had tested positive to a banned steroid, the Knights have been depleted by the loss of four players who have made almost 450 appearances in their careers.
Mullen, the 211-game veteran who is Newcastle’s most-capped current player, is facing the prospect of a career-ending four-year ban.
Key signing Rory Kostjasyn (126 games) will be sidelined for at least 12 weeks with a throat injury that requires surgery. Like Kostjasyn, Pauli Pauli (48 games) will be out of commission indefinitely after dislocating his hip in a car accident last week.
Meanwhile, Korbin Sims, after 76 top-grade games, was granted a release by the Knights last week to link with Brisbane.
Those four setbacks capped off a turbulent 12 months in which proven performers Jeremy Smith, Kade Snowden, Robbie Rochow, Tariq Sims, Akuila Uate, Jake Mamo and Joseph Tapine parted company with the Knights for a variety of reasons.
Nonetheless, Brown is confident the 11 rookies he blooded last year, all of whom are still on Newcastle’s books, will benefit from the harsh lessons they learned and improve physically after their second full pre-season preparation.
Newcastle are also hopeful of signing reinforcements in the countdown to round one.
After releasing Sims on Friday, Knights chief executive Matt Gidley said the club was in “a very strong position to enter the player market and improve our squad for 2017 and beyond’’.
He told the Herald on Wednesday that “significant” funds were available for a two-fold recruitment strategy.
“There’ll be opportunities to bring some players in in the short term, to strengthen our squad for 2017, and we’ll also be having conversations with a number of marquee players for 2018,’’ Gidley said.
“What we have to do is look at our team and which areas we need to strengthen.
“We’re well positioned if players become available leading into the season.’’
AAP reports: Former Knights back-rower Chris Houston has been named co-captain of Super League club Widnes.
The 31-year-old Houston will lead the Denis Betts-coached side along with Joe Mellor, while Aaron Heremaia and Tom Gilmore have been made vice-captains.
"I have been involved in leadership roles throughout my career and I am looking forward to building on this experience at Widnes Vikings," Houston told the club's website. "The club has some outstanding young players and I'm looking forward to supporting them."
Houston joined the Knights from St George Illawarra in 2008 and played 160 games before signing for Widnes in 2016.
Widnes finished seventh in last season’s 12-team Super League, with 10 wins and 13 losses. Houston appeared in 21 games.