Three wooden spoons, three years.
This has been the story of the lacklustre Newcastle Knights side in the past half-decade. A lack of depth, injuries, key player departures and off-field dramas have plagued the team to hit rock-bottom. Despite coach Nathan Brown failing to make the top eight in the past two seasons, he's built a solid foundation for an effective and talented footy side in the near future.
Words can't describe how disappointing Newcastle have been in the past three seasons. In 2016, they could only string together a single win, in twenty-six long rounds. Their struggles didn't end there though. The inability to attract buyers to purchase the club that had been on sale for a number of months.
The Newcastle Knights had established themselves as the embarrassment of the league. However, with the addition of new head coach Nathan Brown, it seems as though there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The Knights have endured the pain of seeing their most valuable players depart their club. Whether it was Tariq Sims leaving mid-way through last year, or Jarrod Mullen receiving a hefty ban from the NRL after consuming a performance-enhancing drug.
It's hard to pinpoint their failures to one particular reason, however, it's fair to say Wayne Bennett has severely damaged their club. He left the Hunter for the Broncos in 2015, and the Knights side hasn't recovered since.
In spite of their devastating seasons, new talent has burst onto the scene. Young guns in the likes of Brock Lamb, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, and Mitchell Barnett. Their development over the years has been evident, morphing into fine young footballers.
Season 2018 looks bright for the Hunter. Brown's roster management has been outstanding. Brown signed a mixture of young and old and no matter how old, you can't undervalue their experience.
Chris Heighington, Aiden Guerra, and Jacob Lillyman are new members of the senior club. Their valuable experience will guide the club's young forwards to take their footballing ability to another level. The Knights already possess damaging forwards in the Saifiti twins and new recruit Herman Ese'ese.
Although the Knight's have made a number of senior signings, they haven't relaxed on poaching the young guns either. The Knights snared the game's next superstar Kalyn Ponga, who is set to be the spark at the back of Brown's powder kit.
The additions of Tautau Moga, who despite his absence due to injury, took his game to another level in 2017. Connor Watson, the 21-year-old's dazzling footwork, and footballing potential are part of the reason that the Knights stole the halve from the Tigers grasps.
The Newcastle Knights, without a doubt, have the chemistry to make the top eight and could utilize their talent, to go an extra mile.
Putting the new signings aside, Brown has built a hard-working and winning environment around the Hunter. Players are pleased with the facilities and training programs, that enhance their performance. The Knights possess dedicated and effective staff members, whose off-field work, has an evident impact on the playing field.
In the backend of the 2017 season, the Newcastle side caused havoc all around the comp. Their young forwards stepped up and showcased the future of their side. We saw them upset top-four-sides, and when they weren't winning, they were giving their opponents a run for their money.
Brown claims that the Knights still are still under the salary cap. To emphasise the amount of cap space they have left, the Knights could sign Cooper Cronk if they desired to. Their 2018 roster is shaping up, and they still have a few more quality signings on their checklist.
It's hard not to believe, that the Knights won't make the finals for the fifth year in a row. However, with the stability of the club, and a number of quality additions, the sky is the limit for the Novocastrians.
They have enough strike-power in their forward pack and have signed a number of young outside backs, who will rectify their backline.
Their halves are finally settled, it seems as though it's firming as Brock Lamb and Trent Hodkinson. However, we might see Connor Watson switch over to the halves role.
Despite a horror three seasons, the Newcastle Knights will be a finals contender and could go the extra mile, with the stability of their club, and their new additions.
