The Knights have added some much needed playmakers around Kalyn Ponga, but there is no guarantee he will be around for the long haul to see the vision come to fruition amid their unbalanced roster.

Newcastle had the worst attack in the NRL in 2025, while the also had the third worst defence in the game on their way to a wooden spoon they never should have won given their squad on paper.

However, the club’s roster has been out of whack for some time after paying Ponga $1.5 million a season to be their main man, which has left him short on help amid constant reminders they are a one man team.

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The arrival of Dylan Brown on a record $13 million 10-year deal was as much about getting Ponga help as it was fixing their glaring halves issues, which have seen them chew through playmakers since Mitchell Pearce left the club four years ago.

However, with Ponga only guaranteed to play two more seasons at the Knights, he may not be around long enough to see the fruits of the recruitment department’s strategy.

And even if Brown proves to be a bang for his buck signing and a good investment, which is a big if at this stage given what they paid, they may have just replaced one over-priced star for another, if Ponga leaves as predicted in 2028.

The arrival of Sandon Smith from the Roosters is another ploy to add much needed playmaking to ease the burden on Ponga having to do everything for the Knights.

But with Fletcher Sharpe also bidding to partner Brown in the halves, Smith is no guarantee to start, despite being the only recognised halfback in the squad.

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While they have invested heavily to turn around the club’s woeful attack from last season and provide more strike and depth in the spine, it has come at the cost of building a platform with their forward pack.

And the departure of their best forward Leo Thompson to the Bulldogs leaves them dangerously short of enforcers to set the platform for Brown and Ponga to work their magic.

New coach Justin Holbrook has a huge challenge to turn the reigning wooden spooners into a top eight team again, let alone a title contender and they are at least a couple of elite forwards away from a legitimate chance at winning a premiership.

But first Holbrook needs to put some steel back in their defence and unearth some future stars from within the club’s pathways, while keeping an eye on the transfer market to bolster their forward stocks.

He also has one season to convince Ponga to re-sign because on November 1 next year their captain is free to talk to rivals and whatever strides they make in that time will almost be obsolete if their best player walks out and leaves them having to start again with Brown as their lone main man.

Read on for the Knights’ roster state of play.

THE PONGA PREDICAMENT

Kalyn Ponga may have declared the speculation around his future all rumours and pledged his commitment to the Knights in 2026, but as long as he remains unsigned beyond 2027 questions around his future will remain.

Ponga is off-contract at the end of 2027 and is free to negotiate with rivals from November 1 next year, while he has already been linked to R360, the Roosters, the Warriors and a switch to rugby union to play for the All Blacks.

However, a burning desire to win a premiership is the biggest hint to where Ponga’s future lies, which is why the Roosters rumours won’t go away.

Unless the Knights can convince Ponga next season that they are getting closer to challenging for a title, it is unlikely he will re-sign with the club long-term.

Ponga turns 28 in March and will be nearly 30 by the time his Knights deal comes to an end, so his next contract will likely be his last shot at a premiership in the NRL, be it at the Knights or elsewhere.

With 55 tries and 254 goals in 146 NRL games since his debut in 2016, Ponga has achieved most of what he wanted to in the game, including 10 Origins for Queensland and a Dally M Medal win in 2023.

Kalyn Ponga’s long-term future at the Knights is uncertain beyond 2027.Source: Getty Images

However, he is yet to taste premiership success and that is what he wants to do more than anything after saying, he believes his NRL career will be a failure if he doesn’t win a title.

With James Tedesco likely to retire after the 2027 season, the stars are aligning for the Roosters to make a play for Ponga for 2028 and beyond and the Tri-colours are arguably his best shot at a title, unless he goes to the Panthers or Broncos, which is unlikely with Dylan Edwards and Reece Walsh in his way.

That means the Knights need to convince Ponga in the next two seasons that they are close to winning it all or he will likely leave for greener pastures and he could still push for an early release if the 2026 season doesn’t result in a massive surge up the ladder from last place in 2025.

Ponga also has a history of head knocks, so he knows his time to win a premiership is running out.

Turbo after premiership as Manly skipper | 01:07

DOES BROWN’S MEGA DEAL HOLD CLUB TO RANSOM?

On the form he showed in the Pacific Championships, Dylan Brown’s record $13 million deal looks like it could be a bargain, but there is no doubt it hurts the Knights’ ability to build a title winning roster around him.

Brown is signed for the next 10 years in Newcastle, but as Daly Cherry-Evans showed at Manly, paying one or two players massive money doesn’t always give clubs the best chance to compete for a premiership.

And with Kalyn Ponga also on massive money over the next two years at least, as well as the Knights paying good money to other spine players Sandon Smith, Fletcher Sharpe and Phoenix Crossland, as well as boom centre Bradman Best, it leaves them short in other areas on their roster.

The Storm and Panthers and more recently the Roosters and Broncos have shown that you can pay your spine big money and still compete for premierships.

However, that is still dependent on leaving enough money in the salary cap to sign the right players in the forwards and backs, so that your roster is not top heavy with talent and the majority of the money going to just a handful of players.

Dylan Brown’s $13 million 10 year deal could hurt the Knights’ recruitment in the coming seasons.Source: News Corp Australia

If Brown can produce what he did for New Zealand consistently for the Knights, he will be worth the investment, but he hasn’t delivered consistently at NRL level since the 2022 Eels Grand Final run.

The challenge for Brown is that he won’t have the calibre of forwards he had in 2022 and for New Zealand in 2025 at the Knights, so the pressure will be on him to play even better behind an inferior pack.

And with the Knights paying Brown so much money annually for the next decade, it could leave the club hamstrung in their bid to surround him with enough talent to make a run at a first premiership since 2001.

Only time will tell if Brown’s investment was worth it, but for clubs like Manly with DCE, the Cowboys with Jason Taumalolo and the Titans with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, it is fair to say it hasn’t worked in terms of winning a premiership.

‘A privilege!’ Turbo named as skipper | 10:14

THE HALVES HEADACHE

The Knights have struggled to replace Mitchell Pearce at halfback since he left midway through the 2021 season for the Super League.

In the last couple of seasons they tried Jack Cogger, Jackson Hastings, Phoenix Crossland, Tyson Gamble and even Fletcher Sharpe at halfback, without settling on a consistent No.7.

Cogger (Panthers) and Hastings (St Helens) have now left the club, with Dylan Brown (Eels) and Sandon Smith (Roosters) joining the Knights on long-term deals.

However, their playmaker picture still looks unclear, with Brown and Sharpe likely to get first crack in the halves in 2026, according to coach Justin Holbrook.

This despite both Brown and Sharpe’s best position being five-eighth, so it remains to be seen who will wear the No.7 jersey.

Brown has openly said as recently as the Pacific Championships that he enjoyed playing with Kieran Foran as the chief playmaker, while he played most of his Eels career at five-eighth with Mitchell Moses at halfback.

Brown is better suited to the five-eighth role because he can pick and choose his moments and utilise his running game, which is his strength.

Playing him at halfback could take away from what he does best and burdening him with the organising and kicking could hurt his ability to pop up and take opportunities when he sees them.

Sandon Smith looks the best option at halfback.Source: Supplied

Sharpe also has a brilliant running game, so playing him at halfback would also hurt his ability to play to his strengths.

Smith is the player most suited to the halfback role on the Knights’ roster, having played there with success at the Roosters and he has said he came to the club because he believes he is a starting playmaker at NRL level.

The best balance for the side may be in Smith playing halfback, with Brown at five-eighth, Crossland at hooker and Sharpe acting as a back-up to Kalyn Ponga at fullback, with the potential to take over at No.1 if he leaves the club in the future.

However, at this stage it looks like Sharpe will stay at No.6, with Brown at No.7 and Smith will have to settle for the No.9 or No.14 jersey behind Crossland.

But only time will tell if that is a combination that pays dividends for Holbrook and the Knights or whether they are better off keeping the bulk of their players in their preferred positions.

‘Wasn’t given a fair crack’ | 02:15

THE ENFORCER VOID

The Knights have struggled in recent times to hold their own in the engine room and unfortunately their best enforcer Leo Thompson has left the club for the Bulldogs in 2026.

That leaves the club short on X-factor in the front row and they will be hoping some of their players can step up and fill the void or they may have to go to market.

You can’t win premierships without a star front-rower and the Knights’ roster looks thin in that area heading into next season.

The loss of Thompson has been offset somewhat by the arrival of two props in Trey Mooney and Pasami Saulo from the Raiders and Peter Hola from the Dolphins, but none of those are like for like replacements.

23-year-old Mooney has scored two tries in 25 games for the Raiders since his debut in 2022 and has been looking for an opportunity after being stuck behind Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii in the pecking order at Canberra, so he will be looking to make a name for himself at the Knights.

Saulo, 27, played eight of his 57 NRL games for the Raiders last season and is back for his second stint with the Knights after playing 27 games for the club from 2018 to 2022.

Leo Thompson has left a massive void in the front row after switching to the Bulldogs.Source: Supplied

26-year-old Hola has played 17 games for the Cowboys, Raiders and Dolphins, but at this stage is unlikely to make the Knights’ starting 17.

Jacob Saifiti, 29, has scored 12 tries in 174 games for the Knights since his debut in 2016, but has struggled to reach the level that saw him play two Origins for the Blues in 2022 and 2023 in recent seasons.

At this stage Saifiti and Mooney look like starting, with Saulo to come off the bench, but it remains to be seen if the Knights have enough depth in the front row to match the top teams consistently.

The Knights have also lost Kai Pearce-Paul to the Tigers and while they have some solid back-rowers in Dylan Lucas, Jermain McEwen, Matthew Croker and Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana, as well as veteran lock Tyson Frizell, it remains to be seen if they have enough firepower in the pack to be a top eight team, let alone push for a title.

The Knights’ recruitment team will be looking for potential targets to strengthen their pack, but it remains to be seen if they have the funds in their salary cap to sign any real difference makers up front.

“Moving with the times”: Lockyer on logo | 01:36

HOLBROOK’S BID TO PUT STEEL BACK IN KNIGHTS

New coach Justin Holbrook knows what the Knights’ DNA is all about having played with Immortal Andrew Johns for the club in 1999 and 2000, while he played four games for the Roosters in their premiership winning season in 2002.

The 49-year-old has also had success as an assistant coach at the Roosters and with St Helens in the Super League, so he knows what winning looks like.

Holbrook pledged to add some steel back in the Knights’ team when he took over from Adam O’Brien and wants performances the club’s fans can be proud of.

Newcastle is a working class town built on hard-working people from the coal mines and Holbrook wants his team to fight and make their fans proud of them again, win lose or draw.

The first thing he has to do is turn around their woeful defence from last season, which saw them concede the third most points (638) in the NRL behind only the Titans (719) and the Cowboys (684).

Justin Holbrook has to fix the Knights’ defence.Source: Supplied

They also had the worst attack in the NRL scoring just 338 points, with the next worst the Rabbitohs (427) for a NRL worst points differential of (-300).

While their attack should hopefully improve after signing Brown and Smith to help support Ponga and Sharpe in the playmaking department, the Knights’ defence is up to the whole squad across the board and Holbrook to improve or they won’t stand a chance of moving up the ladder, let alone play finals in 2026.

If the Knights can improve their defence under Holbrook, they have enough attacking firepower to be a top eight team if they can have some luck with injuries.

But unless they drastically improve on the defensive end, they won’t rise up the ladder in a hurry, so that has to be the main area to focus on improving in the pre-season.

Flegler aiming for Round 1 2026 return | 01:03

WHO THEY COULD TARGET

Given they have signed two playmakers in Brown (10 years) and Smith (four years), the Knights will be hoping they have a spine that can turn things around for at least the next two years, while Ponga is definetely at the club.

However, their roster looks short on elite forwards at this stage and they will need to improve their engine room if they want to be a finals team and compete for a drought-breaking first title in 25 years.

Of the props coming off-contract, Payne Haas is the pick of the bunch, but he is unlikely to leave the Broncos, unless they can give him an offer he can’t refuse.

However, signing a player like Haas would cost the Knights at least $1.5 million a season and with Brown on $1.3 million, they would likely have to release Ponga from his $1.5 million a season deal to afford him.

More likely, the Knights need to make a play for the next wave of props led by Panthers’ and Kangaroos front-rower Lindsay Smith or his teammate Liam Henry, who are both being chased hard by the Perth Bears.

Lindsay Smith would be an ideal forward to build the Knights’ pack around.Source: AFP

Another player worth targeting would be the versatile Toby Rudolf, who could be forced out of the Sharks due to salary cap pressure, if the Knights make him a big money offer.

Sharks teammate Braden Hamlin-Uele and Eels skipper Junior Paulo are other props coming off-contract in 2026, but they are getting towards the end of their careers, so the Knights are probably better off going after younger players with more of their careers ahead of them.

Locks Jesse Colquhoun from the Sharks and Josh Curran, who is reportedly on the outer at the Bulldogs would be versatile options the Knights should look at making a play for, given they can cover back row and play in the middle at a pinch.

Second-rowers the Knights could potentially look at are off-contract Roosters pair Angus Crichton and Siua Wong, Bulldogs firebrand Viliame Kikau and Souths enforcer Keaon Koloamatangi.

Sia Wong would be an ideal target for the Knights.Source: Getty Images

Wong is the only player likely to leave their current club of those options, but money talks, so the Knights need to find the room in their salary cap to make a play for a big fish in the pack.

Holbrook can’t expect to roll out the players he has on his books currently and expect different results because the Knights’ pack is in desperate need of an injection of class and elite level performance to turnaround not only their horror defence, but also their level of professionalism on the field and on the training paddock.

KNIGHTS 2026 SQUAD

Top 30: Bradman Best (2027), Brodie Jones (2026), Cody Hopwood (2028), Dane Gagai (2026, MO 2027), Dom Young (2027), Dylan Lucas (2027), Dylan Brown (2035), Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana (2027), Fletcher Sharpe (2028), Francis Manuleleua (2027), Greg Marzhew (2026), Jacob Saifiti (2027), James Schiller (2027), Jermaine McEwen (2027), Kalyn Ponga (2027), Mathew Croker (2025), Matt Arthur (2027), Pasami Saulo (2027), Phoenix Crossland (2028), Sandon Smith (2029), Thomas Cant (2026), Tyson Gamble (2026), Trey Mooney (2028), Tyson Frizell (2026), Wil Sullivan (2028)

Development players: Harrison Graham (2026), Fletcher Hunt (2026), Connor Votano (2026)

2026 gains: Dylan Brown (Parramatta Eels), Peter Hola (Dolphins), Asu Kepaoa (Penrith Panthers), Trey Mooney (Canberra), Pasami Saulo (Canberra), Sandon Smith (Sydney Roosters)

2026 losses: Jake Arthur (Hull FC), Jayden Brailey (Raiders), Jack Cogger (Penrith Panthers), Kai Pearce-Paul (Wests Tigers), Sebastian Su’a (Dolphins), Leo Thompson (Bulldogs), Tyrone Thompson (rugby union)

OFF-CONTRACT IN 2026 BY POSITION

FULLBACK

Tom Chester, Kade Dykes, Sione Fonua, Trai Fuller, Jamayne Isaako, William Kennedy, Luke Laulilii, Heath Mason, Nick Meaney, Sean Russell, Tyrell Sloan, Connor Tracey, Taine Tuaupiki

WING

Michael Asomua, Selwyn Cobbo, Mathew Feagai, Reuben Garrick, Moala Graham-Taufa, Sione Katoa, Greg Marzhew, Marcelo Montoya, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jaxson Paulo, Richard Penisini, Phillip Sami, Sam Stonestreet, Jed Stuart, Jonathan Sua, Jake Tago, Murray Taulagi, Christian Tuipulotu, Daniel Tupou, Will Warbrick

CENTRE

Jesse Arthars, Jake Averillo, Rocco Berry, Jack Bird, Braidon Burns, Wilson De Courcey, Dane Gagai, Mawene Hiroti, Delouise Hoeter, Thomas Jenkins, Brian Kelly, Nathan Lawson, Will Penisini, Jesse Ramien, Solomone Saukuru, Aaron Schoupp, Jeral Skelton, Enari Tuala, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Chris Vea’ila

FIVE-EIGHTH

Jack Cole, Tyson Gamble, Te Maire Martin, Josh Rogers, Trent Toelau, Manaia Waitere, Cody Walker

HALFBACK

Coby Black, Tanah Boyd, Daly Cherry-Evans, Jake Clifford, Tom Duffy, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Zac Herdegen, Kodi Nikorima, Joseph O’Neill, Jaxon Purdue, Niwhai Puru, Adam Reynolds, Brad Schneider, Ronald Volkman, Tyran Wishart

PROP

Tom Ale, Jake Clydsdale, Harrison Edwards, Sione Fainu, Emre Guler, Payne Haas, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Tuku Hau Tapuha, Liam Henry, Samuel Hughes, Jaiyden Hunt, Jaimin Jolliffe, Tui Kamikamica, Sean Keppie, Kaiden Lahrs, Simione Laiafi, Blake Lawrie, Matthew Lodge, Ata Mariota, Sam McIntyre, Francis Molo, Michael Molo, Josh Papalii, Junior Paulo, Toby Rudolf, Lindsay Smith, Daniel Suluka-Fifita, Siosiua Taukeiaho, Xavier Va’a

HOOKER

Jayden Berrell, Damien Cook, Lachlan Croker, Zach Dockar-Clay, Tristan Hope, Jamie Humphreys, Cameron McInnes, Zaidas Muagututia, Cory Paix, Jake Turpin, Sam Verrills, Billy Walters, Patrick Young

SECOND ROW

John Bateman, Shawn Blore, Billy Burns, Thomas Cant, Kurt Capewell, Angus Crichton, Tyson Frizell, Luke Garner, Mavrik Geyer, Jack Gosiewski, Charlie Guymer, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Brodie Jones, Oryn Keeley, Viliame Kikau, Mason Kira, Keaon Koloamatangi, Karl Lawton, Luciano Leilua, Connelly Lemuelu, Zyon Maiu’u, Toni Mataele, Ryan Matterson, Max McCarthy, Marata Niukore, Kai O’Donnell, Joe Roddy, Scott Sorensen, Tony Sukkar, Lewis Symonds, Siosifa Talakai, Kelma Tuilagi, Siua Wong

LOCK

Nathan Brown, Josh Curran, Matthew Eisenhuth, Kalani Going, Lipoi Hopoi, Blake Hosking, Kit Laulilii, Liam Le Blanc, Jesse Colquhoun, Kurt Mann, Hohepa Puru, Hame Sele, Morgan Smithies, Ray Stone, Jack Todd, Jake Trbojevic, Dylan Walker