WHERE there's a Will, there's a way, according to Knights legend Andrew Johns.
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Will Pryce, that is, the English import who joined Newcastle at the start of this season and is yet to make his NRL debut, and who Johns believes can spark his former club's ailing attack, which was ruthlessly exposed in a 32-2 pasting from Canterbury at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
At the halfway point in their season, statistics reveal the dramatic downturn in Newcastle's ability to get the ball across the line.
Last year, the Knights scored 114 tries in the regular season - the most by any team in the NRL - at an average of 4.75 tries (and 26.1 points) per game. After 12 games in 2024, they have scored 33 tries at an average of 2.75 (and 16.8 points).
Only Wests Tigers have scored fewer tries and points (30 and 173 respectively) than Newcastle, and they have played one less game.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien consistently praised the "tough and gritty" football his team produced in delivering four consecutive wins, before their reality check against the Bulldogs.
But none of those wins were by more than six points, and with each passing week the lack of strikepower has become increasingly concerning.
And perhaps that should be no surprise, given that the Knights parted company with Dominic Young and Lachlan Fitzgibbon at the end of last season, and currently have Kalyn Ponga, Bradman Best and Tyson Gamble on the injured list.
Between them, those five players scored 58 tries last year (including finals).
Now those names are missing from the team sheet, and while the Knights are the sixth-best defensive team this year - having conceded 241 points (average 20.0 per game) - they clearly need to manufacture more tries in attack.
That could be easier said than done, especially with consecutive away games against heavyweights Melbourne and Penrith next on their schedule.
One option could be Pryce, the 21-year-old utility back who joined Newcastle this season from Huddersfield, for whom he played 45 Super League games, scoring 17 tries and kicking 62 goals.
Pryce is yet to debut in the NRL but did receive game time during the pre-season trial games, scoring a try against Cronulla.
He has played in 11 NSW Cup games for Newcastle, scoring four tries and kicking 31 goals.
Johns pushed Pryce's case during his commentary stint for Channel Nine on Friday night, and reaffirmed his opinion on the Sunday Footy Show.
The eighth Immortal said incumbent halves Jackson Hastings and Jack Cogger were both game managers and Newcastle would be better served with a running five-eighth.
"The halves don't complement each other," Johns said.
"Hastings and Cogger are halfbacks. They're on-the-ball halfbacks.
"Combinations work because they complement each other ... Cogger and Hastings are first receivers.
"It's not a knock on them individually. They just don't complement each other as halves."
Johns said Pryce, "or even Phoenix Crossland" would be worth a shot at five-eighth.
"I was quite vocal about Will Pryce, the young Englishman ... you need someone to straighten the attack," he said.
"They need a running five-eighth.
"That's Will Pryce. I'd roll the dice with him.
"I know he's raw, but he's got the tools, as a running five-eighth, to trouble Melbourne."
Coach O'Brien did not seem convinced that would be his best option when the subject was broached at Friday's post-match press conference.
"I don't want to make knee-jerk reactions right now, even though I have changed the spine earlier in the year a few times," O'Brien said.
"I think Will's still learning the game out here, to be honest.
"I don't how many games 'Joey' [Johns] has watched of Cup, but he [Pryce] hasn't strung together too many back-to-back good ones.
"He played well tonight [in a 38-16 win against Canterbury], but now's not the time to be executing players."
O'Brien said his halves were "playing off the back foot" for much of Friday's game.
"We just didn't generate any momentum in attack," he said. "I thought there were periods where we defended really well, but our attack was a bit lacklustre."
