The Newcastle Knights had what can only be described as an incredible finish to the 2023 NRL season and will now look to repeat the dose as 2024 commences.
At one stage in 2023, there was little doubt the Knights were in contention for a bottom-four spot.
So bad was it that the club were reportedly weighing up their future coaching options, with Adam O'Brien hanging onto his job at the helm of the men from the Hunter by a thread.
The turnaround during the second half of the season had to be seen to be believed, though, as they rocketed to an eventual home elimination final, where they knocked over the Canberra Raiders before falling to the New Zealand Warriors in an Auckland-hosted semi-final the following week.
Whether they can repeat that form and carry it throughout a full season remains to be seen, though, and these could be the questions that ultimately shape the Knights' 2024 campaign.
2. Who runs the show at halfback?
One of the points that has been heavily overlooked in talking about the Knights' run through the second half of the 2023 campaign is the simple fact Jackson Hastings was injured for much of it.
The halfback, who had moved from the Wests Tigers ahead of the 2023 campaign, struggled to reach his best during 2023 at his new club, but there is a very simple fix here.
The issue for Hastings is that he loves the ball in his hands a little bit too much. Over the last two years, he has averaged more touches of the football than any other halfback in the game. That includes players like Nathan Cleary, Nicho Hynes and Jahrome Hughes.
That makes him and his team predictable when it comes to attack, and at this level, it's something you can't afford to be.
To me, there is little surprise the Knights looked clunky in their elimination final against the Raiders and fell behind at one point with Hastings on the field, and had looked better with Adam Clune running the show in the weeks prior to that.
Hastings will be back in the mix for the number seven this year with Clune's departure to England, but there has to be a question of whether he is better off in a ball-playing lock role - a position the Knights struggle with - while Jack Cogger runs the show at seven next to Tyson Gamble in the six.
That is even more of a question, given Cogger's natural position is the seven. That's not to say he didn't play very solidly in the six at times while replacing Jarome Luai during 2023 at the Penrith Panthers.
