Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

Rock Hopper Steve said:
The money tied up between him and Ponga is just ridiculous they won't have any money for Sharpe when he will need a significant upgrade then there is Best on think 700k.
Can see significant cap problems developing and the good squad they have will become weaker when they have to shed quality it will end in disaster, good maybe for us if we can pick up a good player.
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Best is on like 800k . We went hard for him like many clubs only last year .
Their cap is going to be yuck . Especially if the cap doesn’t go up as much as predicted .
To be fair tot hat contract though , by the time 10 years rolls around the best halves will probably be on 2-2.5mil, especially if the cap gets near 20mil . Giving your best player 10% of the cap is roughly what they’re on right now .
I can only think what fletcher sharpe is thinking . He’s a better player than brown right now . I’ve always wondered what the brown fuss was about , but never commented because I don’t watch the eels play because I absolutely hate them for a variety of reasons. I just assumed ignorance on my part .
I’m starting to think my initial instinct was pretty correct . I always felt gutho and Moses and the gravity they attracted on the field created a lot the time and space Brown took advantage of . With neither of them there , he is the focal point and I’m not sure about that .
To be fair though , maybe with sharpe and Ponga something similar will occur in Newcastle .
 
Lestronge said:
Best is on like 800k . We went hard for him like many clubs only last year .
Their cap is going to be yuck . Especially if the cap doesn’t go up as much as predicted .
To be fair tot hat contract though , by the time 10 years rolls around the best halves will probably be on 2-2.5mil, especially if the cap gets near 20mil . Giving your best player 10% of the cap is roughly what they’re on right now .
I can only think what fletcher sharpe is thinking . He’s a better player than brown right now . I’ve always wondered what the brown fuss was about , but never commented because I don’t watch the eels play because I absolutely hate them for a variety of reasons. I just assumed ignorance on my part .
I’m starting to think my initial instinct was pretty correct . I always felt gutho and Moses and the gravity they attracted on the field created a lot the time and space Brown took advantage of . With neither of them there , he is the focal point and I’m not sure about that .
To be fair though , maybe with sharpe and Ponga something similar will occur in Newcastle .
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You put Brown in their team right now he would probably excel they have a pretty good squad at the moment, it would be hard for him to standout at the eels now they look like dog crap to me but I watch a lot of games and never really rated him, inconsistent like Brooks used to be with us.
 
rugbygoated said:
He's not average at all. He's not trying. There was a time where he was the best defensive 5/8 in the game for a few years. He also has a lot of great attacking stats in a bad side. With Ponga, he will get so much better
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That’s the key. With Ponga. For their sake they must hope he stays, I think Ponga has 2 years of the new combination to determine if he is happy with the way the clubs going.
 
Magpies1969 said:
Is Matamua just another star junior player that does not have the ability or drive to play NRL week after week. Plenty examples of these talented kids that never kick on.
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Unfortunately the stats are that most of the star juniors don't really kick on. It's something entirely different switching from being tackled by kids to being tackled by seasoned hard men.
 
crazycat said:
Re Seyfarth...

If leg speed is the issue, Seyfarth is not the player to be removed.

Not saying he doesn't have other issues, and speed does explain why we punted Bateman + Klemmer so a fast pack could be what Benji is aiming for.

But Seyfarth isn't our slowest player. Hunt/Twal are our slowest. No I wouldn't be punting either of those battering rams.

Moving Api to lock with Da-Silva or Love as hooker would really give us some speed around dummy half. Maybe not starting there, but 20 minutes in... it would throw some teams.

I would be moving on some of our back row depth. Till the weekends game, that was Starford Toa... Yet Toa aced his first game of 2025 and we appear to have good selection headaches.
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You must've missed the game on the weekend. Hunt showed some speed
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
You put Brown in their team right now he would probably excel they have a pretty good squad at the moment, it would be hard for him to standout at the eels now they look like dog crap to me but I watch a lot of games and never really rated him, inconsistent like Brooks used to be with us.
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Brooks unfortunately showed he’s not over his inability to be clutch on the weekend , as much as I wish the best for the guy .
He really struggled when DCE went down .
He’s now at a value though , where there’s no expectation on him to really be that player , outside of leadership which I’m sure he would provide that , maybe not in clutch moments .
If you’re the knights though , youre all in on Ponga, and his ability to command respect and gravity on the field . Because if he does go to the roosters , and you make a mistake with sharpe and let him go ( you’re now paying brown 1.4 mil and duck eggs everywhere else .
That’s right up there with paying Brooks 1.1m . Just bad business regardless.
 
TigerNeddyK said:
Are people watching the same Alex Twal that I watch each week take every dirty hit up into the meat of the opposition and run like his life depends on it ? The same Twal that makes tackle after tackle and cleans up every half chance around him with a 98% rate ?? I cannnot fathom the lack of support he cops on here .. he tried week in week and when you put a few other go forward middles with him he looks awesome..
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I said a while ago that every team needs an Alex Twal, and I still have that opinion. Nothing flash, but very under-rated and extremely reliable. He is even showing a willingness to ball-play to an extent so far this year. Hopefully a good year for him.
 
pawsandclaws1 said:
I believe the Knights have concerns Ponga will go to the Roosters so having Brown ensures a big name (and big $) player is at the club.
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Don't see what difference that would make IF your theory is correct.
I'd say they're hoping Brown plays out of his skin WITH ponga and.forms a good combo that would be more likely to see KP stay
 
crazycat said:
Re Seyfarth...

If leg speed is the issue, Seyfarth is not the player to be removed.

Not saying he doesn't have other issues, and speed does explain why we punted Bateman + Klemmer so a fast pack could be what Benji is aiming for.

But Seyfarth isn't our slowest player. Hunt/Twal are our slowest. No I wouldn't be punting either of those battering rams.

Moving Api to lock with Da-Silva or Love as hooker would really give us some speed around dummy half. Maybe not starting there, but 20 minutes in... it would throw some teams.

I would be moving on some of our back row depth. Till the weekends game, that was Starford Toa... Yet Toa aced his first game of 2025 and we appear to have good selection headaches.
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I was surprised by Hunt’s speed when he was involved in chasing back after a break to mark an inside receiver. Saved a try probably and was a great effort play. Think he has pretty good pace over say 40m for a big man.
 
rusted-on said:
I said a while ago that every team needs an Alex Twal, and I still have that opinion. Nothing flash, but very under-rated and extremely reliable. He is even showing a willingness to ball-play to an extent so far this year. Hopefully a good year for him.
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Have said his best performing year was when he played lock. He tightens up the middle and workload is always high which lessens the workload on others. He also tended to run harder/more direct and offloaded.

2 games so far this year we have seen that happening again, will be interesting how the season unfolds for Twal.

Bird coming on adds a different dimension impact wise mixed with some speed & ball playing which for a tired forward pack will open some games up for us.

I actually like the combination/rotation Benji has started with here and think it can add value for us over the year.
 
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