{"id":365784,"date":"2024-02-06T20:28:31","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T21:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365784"},"modified":"2024-02-06T23:02:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T23:02:50","slug":"knights-secretly-praying-slater-snubs-ponga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365784","title":{"rendered":"Knights 'secretly praying' Slater snubs Ponga"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent seasons, Newcastle<\/a>'s goal was simply to play finals football.<\/p>\n

But in the wake of the Knights' stunning run in the second half of last season and the improvements to their roster, they are well and truly shooting for a top four spot this time around.<\/p>\n

The team that went missing midway through 2023 with seven losses in nine games roared into September like a freight train, winning 10 games straight – knocking off some big scalps along the way.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Secret 'threat' behind NRL's $600m call revealed\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE:<\/strong> Chappell whacks 'rubbish' spirit of cricket debate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Young Aussie stuns West Indies in emphatic win<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Add classy English imports Kai Pearce-Paul (Wigan Warriors) and Will Pryce (Huddersfield Giants), premiership-winning half Jack Cogger (Panthers) and busy forward Jed Cartwright (Rabbitohs) and the Knights appear to have all bases covered.<\/p>\n

The big question mark – and it could decide how far the Knights go in 2024 – is who will play in the halves.<\/p>\n

\"Kalyn<\/p>\n

Tyson Gamble and Jackson Hastings did a great job last season but Cogger is also a class act who will push for a spot in the starting team.<\/p>\n

It leaves coach Adam O'Brien with a pleasant headache, and throw in Phoenix Crossland – a half who was converted to hooker last year when Jayden Brailey was injured – and the club has an embarrassment of riches in the playmaking stakes.<\/p>\n

The only significant losses are tryscoring ace Dominic Young (Roosters) and experienced forward Lachlan Fitzgibbon (Warrington Wolves).<\/p>\n

But their departures have been covered with the recruitment of speedy winger Tom Jenkins (Panthers) and Cartwright.<\/p>\n

CLUB 'SECRETLY PRAYING' FOR PONGA CALL\ufeff<\/h3>\n

Dally M Medallist Kalyn Ponga decided not to make himself available for Queensland State of Origin selection last year and that proved a major factor in the Knights' brilliant turnaround mid-season.<\/p>\n

Ponga took a couple of head knocks early in the year and there were fears for his long-term future.<\/p>\n

But he came back superbly and was among the most dangerous attacking players in the league.<\/p>\n

Should he step up to Origin, that may dull his effectiveness at club level – as it has for many players in the past.<\/p>\n

It's a big call both he and Maroons coach Billy Slater will have to make in coming months – but the Knights will secretly be praying that he again brushes Origin to concentrate on club footy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent seasons, Newcastle's goal was simply to play finals football. But in the wake of the Knights' stunning run in the second half of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":365786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365784"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=365784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365787,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365784\/revisions\/365787"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/365786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=365784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=365784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=365784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}