Knights coach Adam O'Brien not fazed by the lack of a high-class No.7 following Pearce departure

Pearce's departure has left the club with around $650,000 to spend in the salary cap but no-one to spend it on with available playmakers currently non-existent.

It is no secret disgruntled Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks is at the top of the club's wish-list should he seek and be granted a release from his current deal. But so far, Tigers officials have not given any indication they will even consider letting him go.

Unless that changes, the Knights will go into next season with either youngster Phoenix Crossland or ex-Dragons back-up half Adam Clune as their first string No.7 to partner Jake Clifford in the halves.

It's prompted claims the Knights will battle to even match their seventh-placed finish of the past two seasons under O'Brien in 2023.

Not surprisingly, it's a view not shared by the coach, who says he has seen enough positive signs from his playmakers during pre-season training to be comfortable with the position the club finds itself in.

"It's an easy conclusion to draw for people outside the club I suppose when you lose a dominant player like Junior [Pearce]," O'Brien said.

"They are entitled to their opinion but for me, going off what I've seen from our spine over the first five weeks of the pre-season, I'm feeling really content.

"The improvements that Joey [Andrew Johns], Willie [Peters] and Blake [Green] have made with the attack and how well the spine has bought in - I'm really comfortable with that.

"That's all I can judge on because we haven't played any opposition yet. I can only go on what I have seen on the training paddock and I've really liked what I've seen from all our playmakers.

"Phoenix and Adam have been among our best trainers and they are getting to learn off some pretty handy former halves which probably only adds to my contentment to be honest."

Also fueling O'Brien's confidence has been Clifford's influence during his first pre-season at the club after joining the Knights mid-season from the Cowboys this year.

"Cliff's really excelled in a lot of our footy stuff," O'Brien said. "He and his wife have just had a baby and he was a little bit underdone early on. But he's worked hard to get himself to where we are happy with him fitness-wise.

"What I've been really happy with has been his footy content. Whenever we've done 13 v 13, he's probably excelled the most out of all of them and I'm confident of where he can take his game to going forward."

With potentially three roster spots left to fill in the top 30 and around $1 million to play with, O'Brien said the club would be patient and selective before filling them.

"As it gets closer, we'll look to see positionally where we need to strengthen and go from there," he said.

"It's funny at the moment - there's moving parts to it [the player market] and I think having a couple of spots up your sleeve is a good strategy to have."

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