Posted:
#126
Parra are extremely desperate for a half back.
I am telling you, Mortimer has to go to reserve grade for a good 5-6 weeks.
0
Darius Boyd & the Newcastle Knights
TOZER
Posted:
#136
Quote Originally Posted by Ace77:
Can you imagine me cheering for Chris Sandow Battler after all the years i bagged him
Can you imagine me cheering for Chris Sandow Battler after all the years i bagged him
I know bra, it's like how I felt when the rumour started about Ennis coming back to Newcastle. He'd be the first Newcastle player to be booed onto the ground by his own supporters..
0
Posted:
#141
Quote Originally Posted by Aussie Battler:
Knights re-sign Kurt Gidley
20 Apr, 2011 04:22 PM
THE Newcastle Knights have re-signed captain Kurt Gidley until the end of 2015.
In their first player retention since Nathan Tinkler took over as owner of the NRL club and Wayne Bennett was secured as coach for the next four years, the Knights announced today that Gidley had extended his tenure in his home town for four more years.
The 28-year-old Newcastle-born Australian utility and former NSW captain and fullback has played 173 NRL games for the Knights since his debut against the Dragons on August 17, 2001.
Gidley has played 11 Test matches for Australia and 10 State of Origin appearances for NSW, including five as captain.
“I’m a Newcastle boy, I played my junior football with Wests Newcastle and have followed the Knights since the club’s inception in 1988,’’ Gidley said.
“It was always a dream of my brother Matt and I to represent our community by playing for the Knights, and we are lucky enough to have had the opportunity to do so.
“I believe that the Newcastle Knights are building towards a very exciting future with a team that is capable of bringing the Newcastle and Hunter region its third premiership combined with a prosperous future.”
Gidley’s signature is tipped to be the first of many as the Knights, who hope to recruit Dragons international Darius Boyd and Sharks prop Kade Snowden, and retain hooker Isaac De Gois, New Zealand Test centre Junior Sa’u and utility Matt Hilder.
The announcement came a day after the Knights launched their ‘‘Strength in Numbers – Target 10,000’’ campaign, in which they hope to sign 10,000 new ticketed members before the team’s next home game at Ausgrid Stadium against New Zealand Warriors on May 15.
Knights coach Rick Stone, who will make way for Bennett at the end of this season, hoped the retention of Gidley would give the team a boost as they prepare for a daunting trip to Canberra Stadium to tackle the Raiders on Sunday.
“Kurt is an integral part of our club’s community both on and off the field, he is an inspirational captain on the field, and I hope that today our members join us by encouraging their friends and family to commit to the Knights,” Stone said.
“Kurt epitomises what is good about the Newcastle Knights and the Hunter region. We are delighted that he is in the position to be a Knight for life by remaining a one-club player, which is rare in the modern game.”
My source tells me the deal is worth $220k/season + a cargo ship + unlimited access to Newcastle docks + "science" lab + 10 mules.
0
Posted:
#147
Knights won't give up on Kade
22 Apr, 2011 12:00 AM
THE Newcastle Knights insist they have not closed the door on Kade Snowden but concede Cronulla are now well placed to re-sign the NSW Origin prop.
Reports yesterday indicated the Knights had withdrawn from the race for Snowden on the advice of incoming coach Wayne Bennett.
But if that was the case, it was news to current coach Rick Stone, who said yesterday: "I don't think it's fallen through."
Stone, who is weighing up an offer to stay with the Knights as assistant coach next year, has been liaising with Bennett about the club's off-contract players and salary-cap position.
He will hold further talks with Bennett next week and said yesterday: "I don't think any decisions have been made about Kade Snowden at this stage. I don't think we've ruled it out."
Another Knights source told the Newcastle Herald there had been "no further developments with regard to Kade, one way or the other".
But there have been developments at the Sharks, where Snowden's front-row partner, Luke Douglas, agreed on Wednesday to accept a three-year deal with Gold Coast.
That setback was expected to prompt Cronulla to increase their offer to Snowden, who joined the Sharks in 2008 after launching his NRL career with Newcastle three years earlier.
"Obviously the landscape has changed significantly with Luke Douglas going to the Gold Coast," Stone said.
"He [Snowden] becomes even more important to them, and you would imagine they have a little bit more money available.
"To lose one of your premier front-rowers is tough, but to lose two, I don't think too many clubs would sit by and watch that happen."
It is believed the Sharks will offer Snowden a four-year deal worth at least $400,000 per season.
The Knights, through third-party sponsors, would be capable of outbidding them if they wanted to.
But Newcastle's priority appears to be St George Illawarra's international fullback, Darius Boyd, who has stated on several occasions that he wants to continue playing under Bennett.
The Knights have held detailed discussions with Boyd, and Stone said last week that he believed it was "a given" that the dynamic Queenslander would be at Newcastle next season.
Whether Newcastle can afford to add both Snowden and Boyd to their roster next season remains to be seen.
The Knights have most of their squad for next year under contract, but Junior Sa'u, Matt Hilder, Wes Naiqama, Shannon McDonnell, Cameron Ciraldo, Steve Southern and Keith Lulia are among the free agents.
It is also debatable whether they need to recruit a front-rower, given that Antonio Kaufusi, Dan Tolar, Evarn Tuimavave, Richie Fa'aoso, Joel Edwards, Mark Taufua, Chris Houston and Neville Costigan are already on their books.
Stone had initially been keen to entice Snowden back to his home-town club.
But when they re-signed Houston and Tuimavave extended his deal late last year, the Knights withdrew their offer.
The controversial intervention of billionaire Nathan Tinkler changed that.
Having heard that Snowden was close to extending his stay at Cronulla, Tinkler made a phone call and persuaded him to hold off on the deal.
The only problem was that Tinkler did not officially own the Knights, as his takeover proposal had not been put to members.
When members eventually voted 97 per cent in favour of allowing Tinkler to privatise the club on March 31, it was assumed he would waste little time in signing Snowden.
Now that decision appears up to Bennett.
And even if the new coach gives his approval, the Sharks will dig deep to keep their 24-year-old battering ram.
0
Hot Forum Topics
