![Knights assistant coach Bec Young with head coach Ben Jeffries. Pictures by Marina Neil Knights assistant coach Bec Young with head coach Ben Jeffries. Pictures by Marina Neil](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HLS8hELXYzzpgPAWF8Wni5/85c5e609-efaf-4d92-9dbb-a6ff785e9007.jpg/r496_302_5443_3205_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
As the Newcastle Knights prepare to launch their fourth NRLW season against the Sydney Roosters on Thursday night, the big question is: can they continue their dominance with a third straight premiership?
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In a short amount of time, the Knights have quickly established themselves as the NRLW's team to beat.
After collecting the wooden spoon in their maiden campaign of 2021, they claimed grand final glory in 2022 with a host of high-profile signings.
They backed it up in emphatic fashion last year, claiming the club's first NRLW minor title before defending their premiership crown. And, with several star players signed on for multiple seasons and the bulk of the squad retained for 2024, Newcastle look poised to dominate the NRLW for years to come.
There is no doubt the Knights have a huge target on their backs but the challenge of triumphing again is one new coach Ben Jeffries and the players are embracing.
The coach
Jeffries knows it is a tough act to follow, taking the reins from back-to-back premiership-winning coach Ronald Griffiths.
But the 43-year-old Murawari man loves a challenge and believes the Knights' NRLW squad is at least as strong as last year's, if not stronger.
"Obviously my role is to evolve this group as well and challenge them again, and that's one thing that's going to happen, is challenge the individuals to be better," he said.
A Forster junior, Jeffries played lower grades with the Knights before 28 NRL appearances for St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers followed by a 255-game stint in the English Super League.
The halfback started his coaching journey as an assistant with Newcastle's SG Ball (under-18) team.
He has been head coach of the women's Indigenous All Stars, PNG women's national team and guided North Queensland in their first NRLW season last year before joining the Knights on a three-year deal.
Jeffries brings a hands-on approach to coaching. He clocked the kilometres alongside his players in an unofficial run club before pre-season even began and slots into training as needed.
"I don't particularly want to be a coach that stands there and points and tells them what to do and can't do it myself," he said.
"I purposefully didn't drive [run club]. It's them coming here. I would jump in with them. That was my initiation to get involved with them, start to create a bond with them and them trust me. The biggest challenge I asked players through that period was make the hard decisions now to make it easier for us down the road. We've noted that we are going to be the hunted every week, and we've flipped it that it's a privilege to be the hunted.
"If someone is trying to hunt you every week it means they've got respect for you, so we've got to be prepared that's what's going to happen every week. Are we prepared to do the little things that got us back-to-back the last two years? Can we be hungry enough to do that again?"
The pioneer
Jeffries brought in women's rugby league trailblazer Bec Young as one of his assistants, in addition to experienced local Ian Bourke, in a move that could prove pivotal.
Young, a dual international who has represented Australia in rugby union and rugby league, has been a pioneer for female players in the Hunter and is a respected and knowledgeable mentor.
"Bec has nurtured a heap of these young players," Jeffries said. "She's a bit of a pioneer here. When we had our values day, we asked players who are some of your idols and some of them stood up and said Bec. That's the stature she holds within that group."
The Newcastle 42-year-old, who is a traditional owner of the Worimi lands, and husband Mick started a Newcastle team playing in the NSW women's competition in 2012. The team played under various names before the Knights eventually joined the state-wide competition.
"There was no league here ... It was about just giving players a choice and an option to play rugby league," Young said.
"My dad used to drive the bus to games and we used to knock on doors for sponsorship to help the girls.
"In the first two years, Sydney teams wouldn't travel to Newcastle so we had to have all away games. So a lot of things have changed here and I just love everything. I love coming here every day and just smile when I see all this footy stuff for the girls."
The powerful front-rower played for the Roosters in the first two NRLW seasons before side-stepping into coaching. She started at the grassroots level, guiding her son's and daughter's junior sides at Souths.
She mentored Central Newcastle women for three seasons and has been involved with the Knights pathways programs as well as the Indigenous All Stars.
Now, Jeffries has given Young the freedom to put her stamp on the Knights' forward pack.
"BJ takes the spine and the outside backs, I take the middles and make sure we're protecting our ruck and making sure no one comes through the front door," Young said.
"BJ is an amazing mentor and I've got Bourkey [Ian Bourke] with me as well, and Jade Porter. They're amazing mentors. That's the only reason why I'm here, because they back me. They trust me to do a job and it's pretty important that we're all working as a team and trust each other to do that."
![Knights' home-grown teenage halfback Jesse Southwell. Picture by Marina Neil Knights' home-grown teenage halfback Jesse Southwell. Picture by Marina Neil](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ikLFZZUcNnvgygfqz78ZET/57cccd2f-dda8-4f32-8d8f-82ece258f133.jpg/r0_517_4849_3189_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The experience
The Knights will again be led by home-grown lock Hannah Southwell, a NSW and Australian representative who bleeds red and blue.
The importance of having Young on board is not lost on the 25-year-old, who played alongside the assistant coach early in her career.
"None of us really get ahead of ourselves; we're a pretty humble group, just happy to be playing footy," Southwell said.
"Go back 10 years, this wasn't really around. We've got the likes of Bec Young coming in and telling us what it was like and what she had to do and how tough it was, which we definitely take in at training every day."
Alongside Southwell will be elusive Queensland and Jillaroos fullback Tamika Upton, last year's Dally M Medallist and back-to-back player of the grand final. Prop Caitlan Johnston-Green, second-rower Yasmin Clydsdale and hooker Olivia Higgins are all coming off strong State of Origin campaigns with NSW.
The Knights' experienced forward pack also includes seasoned campaigners Tayla Predebon and Simone Karpani.
Among them, they have claimed multiple premierships and their winning mentality and experience will again be key.
![Knights' New Zealand imports Isabella Waterman and Grace Kukutai. Picture by Marina Neil Knights' New Zealand imports Isabella Waterman and Grace Kukutai. Picture by Marina Neil](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ikLFZZUcNnvgygfqz78ZET/cc46499e-a359-4f02-89b2-bcc880c500a1.jpg/r492_754_4920_3291_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The rising talent
At just 19, home-grown halfback Jesse Southwell has a huge future and another big role to play. The young Novocastrian, who won rugby sevens gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before making her NRLW debut, is sure to have a point to prove after being left out of the NSW Origin side this year despite being the incumbent No.7.
"The world is her oyster, really. I've never really seen a player move like her," Jeffries said. "She's gifted. She's had two campaigns in NRLW and won back-to-back. She doesn't know anything different, and when she got the setback with Origin we sat down and I said this will help you build your character.
"She's got this unbelievable football mind for a 19-year-old. The challenge for her is, a little bit like coaching, she's got knowledge and she's got to try to get her teammates to understand what she's thinking. That's the challenge for good players, especially when you're a halfback."
Former Young Matildas captain turned NRLW winger Sheridan Gallagher had played just two games of rugby league before joining the Knights for a break-out rookie season that included a clutch play to turn the grand final. The 22-year-old is expected to have further impact this campaign as her game develops.
And, there's plenty of emerging talent coming through the Knights pathways in the likes of 19-year-old halfback Evie Jones, who has been upgraded to a top-24 contract this year, plus development players Evah McEwen and Lilly-Ann White.
The imports
The Knights brought in England five-eighth Georgia Roche last year and Kiwi pair Abigail Roache and Laishon Albert-Jones, who all proved crucial to success in their debut NRLW campaigns.
This year, Jeffries has recruited athletic New Zealand Super W players Isabella Waterman and Grace Kukutai.
"We're going to be the hunted every week," Jeffries said. "We're going to attack that. We're not going to shy away from it. That's our challenge.
"If we go about our business and evolve as a group, our standards, we should be alright."