IF the Newcastle Knights are to emerge as a premiership force in 2024, they will have to do so with one of the youngest and least experienced squads in the club's history.
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Knights fans pushing for the club to provide a genuine pathway and prioritise youth will get their way next season.
Nine members of next year's top 30 roster will have an average age of 21 and have played a total of just eight NRL games between them.
Five of those - English recruits Kai Pearce-Paul and Will Pryce, back-rower Toni Tupouniua and young forwards Paul Bryan and Myles Martin - are yet to play in the NRL although the two young Englishmen have played in the top grade in the Super League.
Of the other "rookies", Dylan Lucas has featured four times, Krystian Mapapalangi twice and Oryn Keeley and Ryan Rivett have come off the bench for cameos in one game. Mapapalangi is the only player currently in this year's top 30.
As we predicted weeks ago, Lachlan Fitzgibbon is off to Warrington and the Knights are also poised to let the likes of experienced duo Kurt Mann and Hymel Hunt go to accommodate the injection of youth.
As it stands now, Newcastle have filled 24 of their top 30 for 2024 following the release of contracted player Simi Sasagi to the Canberra Raiders.
If Tyson Frizell commits to a new contract as expected, that would leave five spots to fill with Rabbitohs forward Jed Cartwright's signing cutting that number to four.
The club is also in negotiations with Warriors outside back Adam Pompey and has privately indicated they will likely offer Enari Tuala a new contract.
If those deals get done, there will only be two spots left on the roster to fill.
BIG CALL PAYS OFF
A few weeks back, Knights coach Adam O'Brien put the club's disciplinary standards and culture ahead of his own future in the job by dumping in-form winger Greg Marzhew for the Roosters game for missing the team bus in Brisbane the previous weekend.
It was a brave call for a coach under pressure and, as it turned out, he found himself under even more scrutiny when his side lost. Marzhew could have proved the difference in turning an 18-16 defeat into a win had he been out there.
But Bradman Best's admission in Blues camp this week that his axing last season for exactly the same offence was a big wake-up call and a turning point in his career was a big justification for the strong stance taken by the coach and the club.
It's no coincidence the players' off-field discipline, a real problem in the past, has improved considerably in recent seasons.
As for Best, he is no certainty to back up from Origin III against the West Tigers next Friday night at McDonald Jones Stadium even if he gets through the rep game unscathed given the short turnaround. O'Brien may opt to rest him.
The club expects Dane Gagai to be fit to return from a foot injury with Enari Tuala on standby for Best..
KICKING HIMSELF
We're willing to bet you won't see Jackson Hastings boot the ball into the crowd after scoring a try in future after he injured himself doing exactly that during the Knights' 66-0 thrashing of the Bulldogs.
There were fears Hastings may have torn his quad immediately after scoring his second try with the injury forcing him from the field not long after.
But scans on Monday cleared the halfback of any major damage. Hastings responded to criticism of his running game with a try double and 70 running metres in 66 minutes against the Dogs.
DEPTH SIGNING
Fringe South Sydney forward Jed Cartwright's versatility is the main reason he will be part of the Knights' top squad from next season.
While it's expected he'll be more of a back-up than a regular first choice, Cartwright is a big body who can play back row and centre, which was the attraction for the Knights.
BRAVE EMMA THINKING OF OTHERS
We can't help but be amazed at the courage of beautiful 13-year old Redhead girl Emma Walsh.
Em has been fighting acute leukaemia in hospital after being diagnosed 12 months ago but her private battle with the disease hasn't stopped her thinking about the plight of others in a similar boat.
With the help of her dad Brendan and her family, she has established Emma's Warriors, a small charity to raise money for kids similarly affected.
It will be officially launched at the Lakes-Central league game today at Cahill Oval. Emma has designed the Lakes jerseys that will be raffled off. Please support this wonderful little girl.
Kalyn Ponga masterclass in the Knights' 66-0 demolition of the Bulldogs last Sunday has catapulted him to the lead in our player of the year competition, overtaking Tyson Frizell in the standings. Bradman Best and Lachlan Fitzgibbon were also standouts.
BAZ'S BEST
Rd 18 - Knights v Bulldogs: 3 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Bradman Best, 1 Lachan Fitzgibbon.
Current standings: 14 Kalyn Ponga; 13 Tyson Frizell; 11 Dane Gagai, Greg Marzhew; 10 Lachie Miller; 5 Jackson Hastings; 4 Phoenix Crossland, Bradman Best; 3 Leo Thompson, Kurt Mann; 2 Tyson Gamble, Daniel Saifiti, Dylan Lucas, Lachlan Fitzgibbon.
1 Dom Young, Jacob Saifiti, Adam Elliott.
