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.
3. How much of a loss is Dominic Young?
This is a two-part answer.
The first part is that Dominic Young is an enormous loss to the Knights. It doesn't matter which way you spin it. Young has quickly become one of the competition's most lethal wingers.
A tall, fast winger with skill both on and off the ball, the Englishman has risen to the occasion of becoming an NRL player better than just about any back who has made the trip from England in recent times.
He moves to the Roosters for the 2024 campaign, where he will no doubt go from strength to strength under the coaching of Trent Robinson, making the Knights regret the loss of him more than they thought they might have.
But this is where the negatives stop.
The Knights have made a superb call to raid the Penrith Panthers for his likely replacement as Thomas Jenkins makes the switch to the Hunter.
A centre who plays on the wing with just as much ease, Jenkins has lit the NSW Cup for the last two seasons, but simply hasn't had the chances at first-grade level given the number of players ahead of him within the Panthers' system, and then on top of that, the success they have had in the NRL.
He will take Young's wing spot, and while he doesn't have the height, he has all the other abilities to minimise the impacts of this loss for the men from the Hunter.
