Alex McKinnon reveals the inside story of Dominic Young’s recruitment to the Knights
When Alex McKinnon saw Dom Young’s highlights package he knew that he wanted to bring the giant winger to the NRL - but there was one hitch.
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Alex McKinnon has a history of finding a way.
Unearthing Dominic Young, the strapping Knights winger from Huddersfield with Jamaican genes and a penchant for scoring tries, is typical of McKinnon.
“I‘d never seen Dom play live, only on TV,’’ McKinnon says. “I didn’t have a contact number for him and I didn’t know his manager.
Still, McKinnon found a way – and in the process, almost certainly, becoming the first NRL talent scout to secure a player by approaching his target on Twitter before then housing the then-teenager in his backyard granny flat.
It was in the summer of 2020 when McKinnon sat at home on his laptop scouring the world for a player the Knights always seem to miss out on.
Young was running around for Huddersfield’s Academy team.
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“One thing I liked about him in watching his videos was that in one game, someone gave it to him and he was aggressive back towards them,” McKinnon said. “He didn’t lay down and I loved that.
“I thought that his size, his skill and athletic make-up was something that is hard to find in Australia.
“And I knew that was what we were missing. Being the Knights, historically, we didn’t get the first shot at a player with those traits.
“Those players don’t come to the Knights if they’re in Australia. So when I saw him, I thought this has to work.”
When McKinnon – who finished-up as the Knights recruitment manager earlier this year – introduced himself to Young via a direct message on Twitter, the untapped talent, who had made his debut with Huddersfield in the English Super League at 17, directed McKinnon to his father, John.
“I made contact with John and we organised to talk on the phone around 8am Australian time,” McKinnon said.
“I’m always up at that time doing my physiotherapy and so that’s when I could chat to John about Dom.
“John is extremely intelligent and well-educated. He listened to why I thought Dom could find a home at Newcastle and credit to him for placing that trust in us.”
McKinnon says that one of Knights coach Adam O‘Brien’s greatest strengths is his willingness to back the decisions of his staff.
Still, for a number of reasons, McKinnon was rightfully nervous.
The strike-rate of success of outside backs from the UK who make it in the NRL is vastly inferior to the recruitment of English-born footballers who play in the forward pack.
Few make it.
If you were to rank the top-10 British players to have played in the NRL over the past 20-years, none of them are outside backs.
Forwards Sam Burgess, James Graham, Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, Gareth Ellis, Adrian Morley, John Bateman, George and Tom Burgess and five-eighth Gareth Widdop, lead the list.
In recent years, outside backs, including English Internationals Ryan Hall (Roosters) and Sam Tomkins (Warriors) as well as, Dan Sarginson (Titans) and Zac Hardaker (Panthers) have enjoyed short-lived stints in the NRL.
The Wests Tigers currently have Englishman Oliver Gildart in the centres.
And in fact, it was the Knights, who have had the most success with Irish-born winger, Brian Carney, who scored 16 tries in 26-games during his 2006 season.
“I’ve never been more nervous in my whole life,’’ McKinnon said.
“I’d never met Dom in-person. I’d never watched him play live. I couldn’t fly to England because it was in the midst of Covid.
“It was my call, but Adam watched the videos too and went ‘holy shit, we need that.’
“That was one of the best things about working with Adam, he backed you.”
From that moment, McKinnon went to work on securing a visa for Young.
The process dragged-on for almost 12-months, until in December 2020, the 200cm athlete was standing with his suitcase at the front door of McKinnon’s Newcastle home.
“For the first three months he lived out the back of my house in our granny flat – he didn’t know anyone,” McKinnon said.
“He had Christmas Eve with our family and my little girl Harriet would spend every day asking Teigan (McKinnon‘s wife) when Dom would be home from training.’’
Last Saturday, McKinnon had a smile on his face when on the right-wing, Young hurled his huge frame through the air to score a superb try in the Knights classy first-up victory over the Roosters.
It was his fifth try in seven-games. Defensively, Young also showed his wares, denying representative winger Daniel Tupou a certain try during the match.
“I can’t see why he can’t be a cult-figure in Newcastle,’’ McKinnon said.
“We had Brian Carney who made really good connections in the community and I think that if you are able to maintain consistency in selection, you have a chance to really build a connection with the fans.
“And I think that’s something the fans could really get behind with Dom.
“You’ve got to remember, he’s still quite young, there’s going to be some ups and downs, but surrounding him with people like Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai on that right-edge, it will help him.’’
As fans and commentators, we’re quick to judge the recruitment of particular players to certain clubs.
It is a fickle game.
But what McKinnon was able to do, much like his determined character, was to find an answer to a problem.
He identified a flaw in the Knights roster and found a solution, that other clubs, would never have seen through.
“It was a rollercoaster. And you know what, it still is now – that’s the game,’’ McKinnon said.
“We’re in the business of evaluation. It’s so subjective and you’re putting your name on the line.
“It’s a rollercoaster. That’s why I’m so happy for Adam and the team and for Dom that he played well on the weekend and the boys really enjoy his company.
“Because it was a gamble.”
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