Knights buys in the nick of time for Pearce mess

After years of recovery from a salary cap mess that started with Wayne Bennett, Newcastle's 2021 season will be the truest test of a salvage mission that's put them back in the market to buy leaders.

The Mitchell Pearce texting saga has all the hallmarks of a lit fuse fizzing towards a stick of dynamite that sits under the Knights' bid to turn into a genuine premiership contender this year.

Coach Adam O'Brien talked a good game at yesterday's press conference, claiming: "The group is not divided," but that's a difficult line to swallow given what we've learned over the last week.

Mitchell Pearce

When Pearce strayed outside his relationship by texting a club staffer it wasn't just the trust of fiancee Kristin Scott that was lost.

Players who are well liked figures within Newcastle's squad felt betrayed because ultimately their friend, a former Knights junior, was the innocent victim as the current partner of the female staff member Pearce was flirting with.

Immediately it became clear that Pearce could no longer be captain. At least some of the players wouldn't fall behind him and lift for him in the tough moments of games. Without that trust in the captain, the Knights risked losing all the ground they've gained over the last two seasons.

Pearce has taken steps to win back the respect of his teammates by addressing them honestly and giving a heartfelt apology. Even without the 'c' next to his name it will be vital for relationships to be repaired. Pearce will be asking his forwards to run tough lines and make tackles for him. That expectation starts with respect and O'Brien was adamant the healing process was well underway.

"There was genuine remorse in that meeting and I think the players could see that clearly that there was a guy standing up there that was genuinely owning a mistake … a big mistake that's hurt some people," O'Brien said.

"That fact was clear to the playing group. I think that's what galvanised the group. They realised they need to get around a family member."

In situations such as these a team is only as good as its leaders.

Rewind 12 months and it's hard to imagine the Knights could navigate a pre-season landmine like this and walk away without significant wounds.

For a start there were no obvious candidates to assume the captaincy, let alone taking it on in a crisis.

The club's two blue chip buys, Kalyn Ponga and David Klemmer had provided the Knights with quality but neither are readymade captains.

It's a factor that perhaps held Newcastle back from becoming a top four side last season. In the leadership stakes Pearce was, to a degree, the Lone Ranger. The club has several candidates – none more impressive than Daniel Saifiti – for future captaincy honours but now is too soon for them.

That can't be said about Blake Green or Tyson Frizell.

Green touted as Pearce successor

Green is an experienced and natural leader of men and Frizell is a senior player in the NSW and Kangaroos sides; a classy individual who players love having around, both on and off the field.

The early mail is that Green, who ruptured his ACL in August in just his third game for the club, will take over as captain. However, he's unlikely to be fit to start the season, putting Frizell in the frame to debut for his new club with the 'c' next to his name.

Frizell has support for the role full-time, with former Dragons premiership player Jamie Soward arguing on Twitter that the hulking second-rower was the "easy fix" and should have captained St George Illawarra at some point in his career.

https://twitter.com/sowwowofficial6/status/1347283421635125249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The point is that the Knights have options at a time when they need them. Even as newcomers, Frizell and Green have the qualities to hold together a culture that will be sorely tested for the rest of the summer and beyond.

After years of playing catch up due to salary cap mismanagement, the Knights have emerged with recruits who can pick up the pieces.

Pearce still has some healing to do but all is not lost for O'Brien's team. Far from it.

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