{"id":895096,"date":"2026-09-17T08:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/895096\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T08:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:24:13","slug":"nrl-2026-fletcher-sharpe-stars-for-the-knights-a-year-after-freak-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/895096\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Fletcher Sharpe stars for the Knights a year after freak injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby league is full of stories about players who have returned from serious knee and shoulder injuries the following year, but few stars have experienced what Fletcher Sharpe went through in 2025.<\/p>\n

It makes Newcastle\u2019s run to the second week of the finals even more impressive when you consider their speedy five-eighth was in hospital with a lacerated kidney and damaged spleen last June.<\/p>\n

What looked like a head knock quickly escalated, with Sharpe in an operating theatre later that night in Perth as doctors worked on injuries that were described at the time as something you see in car crash victims.<\/p>\n

It took months for him to get back to full fitness, but you wouldn\u2019t know it watching him now, with Sharpe a key reason behind Newcastle\u2019s incredible bounce back in 2026 a year after they finished with the wooden spoon. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really enjoying my footy again. It took a bit to get going, but I\u2019m in a confident spot with where my game is at,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think sort of post-Christmas in pre-season I got all the ticks of approval from specialists, and that obviously gave me a bit of confidence and let me know that I was right to go. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo from there, it was just a slow, gradual build back into it. Once you\u2019re back into it \u2013 full contact and stuff \u2013 instincts take over. You\u2019re back out on the footy field and just back doing what you love. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a little bit to get past it and get back to loving my footy, but it\u2019s back now. I\u2019m enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were questions going into the round 1 game in Las Vegas whether Sharpe would play five-eighth, in the outside backs or come off the bench.<\/p>\n

Those doubts only amplified when he was forced off with a knee injury that thankfully wasn\u2019t overly serious.<\/p>\n

He returned in round 4 and has been a constant threat on the left edge, which has allowed skipper Kalyn Ponga to play both sides of the field knowing that Sharpe has the speed and talent to make things happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most pleasing thing about his footy is his consistency,\u201d Ponga said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith a young guy in a different position, you often find they aren\u2019t as consistent week in and week out. But he\u2019s been one of our best players, if not the best, throughout the whole year. He\u2019s won us a couple of games just on his own back. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery week, we know exactly what we\u2019re going to get from him. He\u2019s a natural footy player, and he works hard. He earns everything he gets and puts himself in good positions \u2013 you don\u2019t do that through luck. I\u2019m definitely glad he\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

New coach Justin Holbrook has revamped their attack and turned them into one of the most exciting teams to watch.<\/p>\n

A lot of that starts with Ponga and ends with their try-scoring wingers, but Sharpe has played a key role even though the Knights lost record-signing Dylan Brown to a knee injury earlier in the year. <\/p>\n

Sharpe has scored a career-high 12 tries and has 11 assists \u2013 more than double his previous two years combined \u2013 with his speed through the middle a nightmare for rival teams. <\/p>\n

They face the Warriors this weekend, with the Panthers waiting for the winner in a grand final qualifier.<\/p>\n

That felt like an impossible dream a year ago, but footy has a strange way of making fairytales come true. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely felt a long way away going into the start of the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Justin got us all into a room on his first day and said \u2018I don\u2019t really care what happened last year, this year is a new year. I\u2019m confident in the team I\u2019ve got in front of me\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought a game plan that they wanted our footy to look like, and I think everyone jumped on board and bought into it. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere have obviously been some highs and lows throughout the year, but everyone stayed on course and stayed believing in what our footy looks like. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a couple more wins to go and then we\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as \u2018You don\u2019t do that through luck\u2019: Fletcher Sharpe one of the stories of the season a year after he suffered \u2018car crash\u2019 injuries<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rugby league is full of stories about players who have returned from serious knee and shoulder injuries 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