Newcastle would be hard pressed to find a more like-for-like replacement for Roosters-bound winger Dominic Young than fellow speedster Josh Addo-Carr.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But reports of the club's interest in the NSW and Australian flyer are likely to remain just that unless the Knights are prepared to offload a player, either directly with Addo-Carr's current club Canterbury or via a broader exchange.
For starters, the Knights would not have the room in their cap to accommodate a salary of Addo-Carr's, in excess of $500,000 per year.
Secondly the 'Fox', reportedly part of some unrest, is contracted for the next two years and the Bulldogs aren't going to let him go unless it's advantageous to do so.
General manager Phil Gould says the 165-game winger is going nowhere, but that doesn't mean a deal couldn't eventuate.
The Knights have only one spot left in their top-30 roster next season, if - as widely speculated - Penrith winger Tom Jenkins joins the club.
Jenkins, 22, has played just six NRL games, and will be battling with existing players to fill Young's void.
So a player of Addo-Carr's experience, and talent - the 28-year-old has scored 129 NRL tries - would be extremely beneficial given Young bagged a club-record 25 four-pointers last season.
![Josh Addo-Carr. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Josh Addo-Carr. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/max.mckinney/b113ee9f-3bb2-497e-b39c-3b3c1322f069.jpg/r0_0_4136_2748_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said last month he was keen to recruit another outside-back. Football director Peter Parr has mooted similar.
Both are on leave, but would be unlikely to express interest in Addo-Carr given he is contracted.
No shortage of Knights players have been subject to reports of potential moves through 2023, including Bradman Best and Daniel Saifiti, the latter of whom was actually linked to the Bulldogs, and more recently Jayden Brailey, who was cited as a target of new Dragons coach Shane Flanagan, the mentor that handed him his NRL debut at Cronulla.
In all three cases, Parr or O'Brien doused the reports.
The Saifiti speculation gained traction mid-year when Parr was spotted with Gould at a New Lambton cafe, but the only move that eventuated between the clubs was the Knights picking up hooker Fa'amanu Brown late in the season.
However if their recent recruitment is anything to go by, the Knights would at the very least be open to a trade.
They made three swaps between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, trading Chris Randall for Greg Marzhew, David Klemmer for Jackson Hastings and lower-grade player Max Bradbury for Lachlan Miller.
Miller has since departed for Leeds, but all three deals proved fruitful.
Parr said after the Miller swap he was eager to move away from trades, but they are part and parcel of the game, and if anything, becoming more common.
The Knights would likely have to let a decent player go to land the Fox, but who they'd be willing to depart with, and who'd be interested, remains to be seen.
If it's a direct swap, the Dogs are keen on a forward. Jacob Saifiti is the most high-profile Knights forward off contract next year.
But Daniel, previously linked with Canterbury, is understood to have offered to take a pay-cut to keep his brother at the club beyond 2024.
Best, Dane Gagai, Tyson Gamble, Mat Croker, Enari Tuala and Krystian Mapapalangi are among the other top-flight Knights off contract next season.