Andrew Johns Cup grand final: Knights looking to next generation of stars

This Knights’ Andrew Johns Cup side will take part in the grand final this weekend – and the club hopes that it won’t be the only team challenging for the title this year.

It might only be March, but the Newcastle Knights have already got one side booked into a grand final – and hope it won’t be the last from the club’s development pathways.

Playing as the Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights in the Andrew Johns Cup, the country NSW under 16 representative competition, the team will take on the Central Coast Roosters in the decider on Saturday morning at Woy Woy Oval.

The Knights qualified for the grand final after topping their northern conference and then knocking off the Monaro Colts 24-16 in last weekend’s semi-final.

“It’s great to see the Andrew Johns team through to the final. It just shows that we’ve got some really good kids who can step up and come into our Harold Matthews squad for next year,” said former NRL and Super League player Michael Dobson, who took over the Knights’ head of pathways position in the off-season.

On the back of some attractive attacking football, the Knights have scored the most points in the competition with 164, blowing some of their opponents away with their lethal right edge.

“They’re a very skilful group,” says Dobson.

“When they get on a roll they’ve got some really handy players who can play some really attacking footy, and it’s really pleasing to see skill level that high at a young age.”

The Knights’ Tarsha Gale Cup side have also had a strong start to the season. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Among those handy players to have caught the eye over the past couple of months have been halves Jaylan Bishop and Jack Thompson, as well as backrower Fletcher O’Doherty, who has spent much of the pre-season training with the club’s Harold Matthews team.

But while their flashy backline plays have caught plenty of attention, something else about the team has impressed Dobson the most.

“Their resilience has been really good. They had a couple of back-to-back losses after a really good first win and then came back to win their last two. Then they were down (16-6 at halftime) on the weekend and came back to win, which shows the real resilience among that group.”

While results aren’t always the main priority in junior development, the Johns Cup side’s strong showing is a shot in the arm for the Knights’ pathways system, which has had a positive start to the junior representative season.

The Knights’ junior rep teams have made a strong start to the season. Picture: Thomas Lisson

The club’s Laurie Daley Cup side, playing in the under 18 country championships, narrowly missed out on the grand final after topping its pool in the regular season, while the Harold-Matthews (sixth), Tarsha Gale (third) and SG Ball (fourth) teams are tracking well in their respective campaigns.

Given the nature of Penrith’s success in recent years, pathways and junior development has attracted plenty of debate and attention in recent times.

In Newcastle, once the kings of bringing their talented juniors through to the top grade, the Knights have been criticised in some quarters for having taken their eye off the ball over the past couple of decades.

East Maitland junior Thomas Cant was one of three players to make his NRL debut for the Knights against the Dolphins in round three. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

With the likes of local juniors Grant Anderson, Zac Hosking and Jock Madden, as well as former pathways player Jacob Kiraz, getting their first grade opportunities elsewhere, the Knights’ talent identification and retention was also called into question.

However with three pathways players – Dylan Lucas, Ryan Rivett and local East Maitland Griffins junior Tom Cant – impressing in their NRL debuts against the Dolphins last Friday, coach Adam O’Brien jumped to the defence of the club’s junior development system.

“We’ve got some good kids and we’re doing a lot of good things,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“We get a lot of things highlighted about the ones we let go and what we’re doing wrong down there, but there’s a lot of good things going on in the pathways, and a lot of good kids coming out of it.”

While there is plenty of distance between the Andrew Johns Cup and the NRL, the Knights’ young chargers are making good progress. With the team pushing for grand final glory, Dobson notes that no matter what grade you’re in, the fundamentals of rugby league remain the same if you want to win.

“It’s a pretty simple game, footy. They’ve shown they’re a pretty talented bunch of boys with the ball in hand, so if they can hold onto it and aim up defensively, I think they can put on some points and get the job done.”