How the Newcastle Knights kingdom was rebuilt
DESPITE claiming back-to-back wooden spoons, the Knights were on track to be $700,000 over the salary cap this year.
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IT’S the secret butter chicken dish that has helped rebuild the Knights kingdom.
The family home of Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has been the focal point for some of the club’s biggest recruitment drives, helping lure the likes of Mitchell Pearce, Aidan Guerra and Connor Watson to the club.
Brown is flanked by general manager of football Darren Mooney and often their respective families help attracting players.
Mooney labels Brown’s wife Tanya as his “assistant recruitment manager” — her butter chicken a favourite among would-be recruits.
“We’re not salesmen,” Mooney tells The Sunday Telegraph.
“We’re not having a sales pitch. We’re telling the players the journey we’ve been on and where we’re going. Nathan and I just be ourselves and try to include the players in our vision.
“We just try to be honest with them.”
To say Mooney and Brown inherited a mess after Nathan Tinkler’s reign would be an understatement.
Despite claiming back-to-back wooden spoons, the Knights were on track to be $700,000 over the salary cap this year.
Those woes were eased following Jarrod Mullen’s drug ban and Kade Snowden’s injury retirement; the Knights now have money remaining for next year’s roster despite securing a host of star players.
But make no mistake, the rebuilding process has been brutal, highlighted by the fact they have won just 10 of their past 68 games.
Jack Bird had concerns about the playing depth before signing for Brisbane.
The Knights opted against matching the Warriors’ four-year deal for Adam Blair.
They did the same with Wests Tigers-bound Ben Matulino, instead trusting the path they were on.
Losing Dane Gagai was a blow — but the Knights wouldn’t match the Rabbitohs’ big-money offer, while they also missed out on Matt Scott.
Mooney, who helped build the Sharks’ premiership-winning team alongside coach Shane Flanagan, is looking to do the same at the Knights after joining them midway through last season.
“It’s about not panicking and having a longer-term strategy to your list,” Mooney says.
“I never let myself think we wouldn’t be able to sign anyone because players always become available and we had salary cap space.
“No one wants to lose every week but in 2017 the boys competed very hard but just didn’t have the polish to get the games done.
We knew we had a good bunch of young kids and just needed the right blokes around them. If the right blokes aren’t in front of you, you can’t panic.
“Everyone goes, ‘what is a player worth’? It’s not what a player is worth. It is what a player is worth to a club’s salary cap. So you might need a halfback and you’re prepared to pay much more than what any other club is prepared to pay because you need that halfback. But then you’ll need to sacrifice it in another area. It’s not a true market.
“It was hard to hold your nerve a lot because there were a lot of players I could’ve paid a little bit overs for who were better than what we had but they weren’t the right people for our culture.”
Jamie Buhrer loomed as a key signing, joining the club after a successful stint at Manly that included an Origin appearance, but he did so knowing the team could struggle.
“You ask everyone who has come, they had the same meeting with Browny or Moons (Mooney) at a cafe or Browny’s house,” Buhrer said.
“They were open and honest about where the club was situated at the time. When I signed, it wasn’t a great spot.
“We had a frank conversation. My wife asked the questions she thought were important regarding our young family.
“My wife was dreading the possibility of moving but after that meeting she felt a lot more confident.
“They sold the town as a great place to take the family and be part of rebuilding the culture of the club. With their vision and how passionate they were about it, I was excited straight away.
“At times, it was difficult this year but the leadership was something I enjoyed. It’s good (having more senior players around), so it’s not the same voice.”
The bulk of the club’s roster is locked in for 2019 already after veterans Jacob Lillyman and Chris Heighington signed one-year deals while discussions to extend Sione Mata’utia are also well advanced.
Part of the Knights’ strategy has been to bring in experienced players from winning teams. Only Lillyman came to the club from a team that finished outside the top five this year.
The Knights have also embarked on pitching Newcastle as a region, cashing in on the likes of ex-skipper Danny Buderus, who showed potential recruit Kalyn Ponga around town for a few days.
“One of the strategies we had was to sell Newcastle as a place,” Mooney says.
“Nathan and I relocated our families here and we are really happy. We told the players we’ve done it ourselves, we aren’t Newcastle people. We’ve relocated our own families and taken a punt on the joint. We also wanted to get blokes from winning cultures.
“I don’t think Mitchell would have signed if he didn’t make the effort to visit us. We haven’t done anything yet next year but we’ve brought hope to the region and to the fans.’’
Originally published as How the Newcastle Knights kingdom was rebuilt
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