Sydney Roosters winger Dominic Young has finally been officially released from his contract at Bondi.
In what will go down as one of the great failed moves of the modern era, the English winger signed a four-year deal with the Roosters prior to the 2024 season commencing, but lasted just 18 months at Bondi.
The international representative had no problems finding the try line at the Roosters, notching up 26 in 31 games, but his defence and ball handling left too much to be desired for Trent Robinson.
After weeks of persistent rumours, the Roosters finally being at full strength in their back five allowed Robinson to send Young back to reserve grade ahead of the Anzac Day rout over the St George Illawarra Dragons, and from there, the writing was on the wall.
Young was almost immediately linked to a move back to his former club at the Newcastle Knights, and after playing two more games when Robert Toia was on State of Origin duty, including a last start against the Knights on Saturday evening which was won by the Roosters on the back of a controversial late try, he will now rejoin his former club.
It's the club he made a name for himself at after his arrival in Australia, scoring 43 tries in 51 games between 2021 and 2023, and the club where coach Adam O'Brien has recently revealed they never wanted to lose the flying winger.
After weeks of back and forth between the Roosters and Knights, it was understood the deal went through, to be confirmed as soon as the two clubs clashed over the weekend, and that's the way it played out.
The Roosters confirmed Young's release on Monday morning, with head of recruitment Daniel Anderson thanking him for his efforts during his time at the club.
โDom is a talented athlete and a great person. We thank Dom for his contributions to the Roosters and wish him all the best for the future," Anderson said in a statement which also confirmed Young was 'pursuing an opportunity with another NRL club'.
At the time of publication, the Knights are yet to officially confirm his signing, but Young told reporters on Saturday evening that he had relocated his life to Newcastle ahead of the game, was staying with now English teammate Kai Pearce-Paul, and would be in the Knights' review session on Monday morning.
With the attention finally off the 'will he or won't he circus', it will move to under pressure coach Adam O'Brien.
The bottom line for O'Brien is that he needs to find a spark for his struggling side.
The Knights currently sit in 15th spot on the NRL ladder with just five wins from their 14 games, but it's the attack which is the greater concern.
Newcastle have scored just 194 points in those 14 games for an average of just under 14 points per game. That average has actually gone up in recent weeks, because at one point, they were scoring just 12 points per game.
But that doesn't make it any better.
The next worst attacking side is South Sydney, who have scored 241 points from 14 games. That's just over 17 points per game.
While there has been improvement from the Knights, and also an acknowledgement of their injury problems which have forced rookies into the outside backs and a number of different halves combinations so far this year, capped by Jackson Hastings playing his first game of the year over the weekend, the attack has also flat out failed the pub test.
They look, to put it nicely, lost. At times, it has been felt their attack has been drawn up by someone who has never watched rugby league before.
O'Brien might have a monstrous pay out on the horizon if he is to be sacked, but he could yet use Young to turn the club around.
Defence hasn't been Newcastle's problem. Young won't help matters at that end of the park, but it may not matter, because Newcastle have a better defensive record than any other side in the bottom nine, and the only teams who have conceded less points per game than them are the Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs at the end of Round 15.
It's Young's try-scoring, height and acceleration where he will bring the most to the Knights' outfit though.
What is clear is that Kalyn Ponga's return from Origin duty, as well as the approaching return of Bradman Best, will reshape the way the Knights do things in the coming weeks.
At full strength, Young should walk straight into the Knights side, with a back five that reads something like Kalyn Ponga, Greg Marzhew, Bradman Best, Dane Gagai and Dominic Young.
That will seem harsh on James Schiller, Fletcher Hunt and even young Kyle McCarthy, who has been in and out of the side in recent weeks, but with Fletcher Sharpe slowly developing at number six, the calls for him to move back to the wing where he played last year will simply fall away now with Young returning to the side.
Sharpe clearly needs to be closer to the footy, and while it would be a far more ideal scenario if he was able to play at fullback, that isn't going to happen for Newcastle while Ponga is at the club.
The star Queensland representative has barked up that tree before without success, so it means Sharpe stays at six, leaving a wing spot open for Young.
But that's not to say Young won't be under pressure.
The Englishman will need to quickly work to take the errors that forced his axing at the Roosters out of his game. As much as Newcastle haven't attacked well this year, they have had standards in defence, and if they drop, they will only serve to get themselves blown out on a regular basis given their struggle to score points.
Young will help, but he isn't the answer if he can't get quality, early ball in space.
And that, based on the way Newcastle have played this year, is no guarantee of happening, with all of their creative players struggling at times.
For O'Brien, it feels as if this is a last roll of the dice.
Something that simply has to work.
If it doesn't, there is a very, very solid chance he won't be at the helm of the Hunter-based club in 2026.
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