Newcastle are open to recruiting a hooker but will rely on their existing squad in the short term to cover for the loss of Jayden Brailey after the co-captain was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Scans confirmed yesterday that Brailey, who was helped from the field 60 minutes into Newcastle's 34-24 win over the Warriors, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in addition to tearing his meniscus - a less serious injury initially hoped to be the sole problem.
The injuries occurred during a relatively straightforward run Brailey made in the middle of the field, but he is understood to have had knee soreness the week prior against Manly in Mudgee.
![Jayden Brailey will miss the rest of the 2023 NRL season. Jayden Brailey will miss the rest of the 2023 NRL season.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/max.mckinney/a7ec83e1-005e-45f1-90f7-c032f98b9352.jpg/r313_0_4853_3243_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Brailey faces a six-to-nine month recovery from the ACL rupture. He suffered the same injury in round two of the 2020 season and did not play again that year despite Newcastle making the finals.
The latest setback continues a horror run of injuries for Brailey, who also missed Newcastle's first 15 games last year after rupturing an Achilles in the pre-season.
The 107-game hooker, who was celebrating his 27th birthday on Sunday, had started this year well, averaging 40 tackles per game.
"All the boys are just devastated for him," Knights winger Dominic Young said.
"He will take some time to himself to get over it. It's obviously hard for him, he has been there before. We've all sent our best wishes to him."
The Knights do not have another dedicated hooker with NRL experience on their roster after letting back-up No.9 Chris Randall join Gold Coast in a swap for winger Greg Marzhew late last year.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said on Sunday he would rely on Kurt Mann and Phoenix Crossland to share the dummy-half duties and named the latter to start against Penrith on Saturday.
Football director Peter Parr told the Newcastle Herald the club was always in the market for quality players, but he was confident the existing playing group could cover for Brailey's loss.
"At the moment we're going to rely on our existing players," Parr said.
"We've got a lot of faith in Phoenix and Kurt, and we've got a lot of faith in some of our younger players who have been hampered by injuries early in the year.
"When something like this happens, you're all ears to possibilities but right at the moment we've got complete faith that Phoenix can play there and Kurt can play a role as well."
The Knights have a few specialist hookers in their lower grades but they are still works in progress.
Temple Kalepo started NSW Cup on Sunday but has only just returned from injury. Kobe Rugless was involved in the first four NSW Cup games, while Riley Jones played in Newcastle's pre-season NRL trial against Cronulla but he is still a few weeks off returning from recent wrist surgery.
Tyson Gamble, who returns at five-eighth this week after missing Sunday's game due to concussion, could be an option depending on how O'Brien deploys Kalyn Ponga when he returns from his own concussion lay-off, likely on Saturday week against the Cowboys in Townsville.
Crossland has played 41 NRL games but only once started at hooker, facing the Dolphins in round three when Brailey was out with concussion.
However the 22-year-old has developed as a dummy-half as he's been increasingly used as a utility.
Mann was signed by former Knights coach Nathan Brown to be a No.9, but has only started seven games in the position since joining Newcastle in 2019.
Gamble's return and Brailey's omission were the only team changes on Tuesday.