Five big questions for 2024: Newcastle Knights

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.

Can Kalyn Ponga stay fit?

This is the single biggest issue for the Knights heading into the 2024 campaign, although there are certainly others that need a solid answer before Round 1.

There is little coincidence that Ponga struggled for fitness through concussion issues and, as a result, form during the first half of the 2023 campaign. The results during the first half of the season for Newcastle were abysmal.

But then Ponga managed to get himself fit, stay on the field, and put in a man-of-the-match performance after the man-of-the-match performance during that incredible, glorious second half of the year.

The fullback, who has confirmed he will once again put his hand up for the Origin arena this year, is among the most talented players in the game, but it's more than that. He reads the play sensationally and has begun to understand what makes a team like the Knights, in a regional town with a passionate fan base, tick.

The club made the big call to re-sign him long-term on a mega deal during 2022, warding off the threat of the Dolphins, and the fullback needs to continue repaying them for that faith this year.

If Ponga, who took out the 2023 Dally M Medal on the basis of his second half of 2023, continues the form he finished last year with, then the Knights could well become something close to an unstoppable force.

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.

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.

What does Jayden Brailey bring to dummy half?

One of the biggest hits for the Knights in 2023 was Jayden Brailey losing the best part of yet another season following an injury early in the campaign.

Given the club had let Chris Randall go to the Gold Coast Titans during the pre-season, it came as an even bigger blow to the Knights than his previous injuries had.

But what happened next was something that will go down in Knights' history as Phoenix Crossland and Kurt Mann - two utilities fighting for first-grade minutes - combined to become a well-rounded, strong number nine during that incredible run through the second half of the campaign.

But in 2024, Brailey will return to take the starting number nine role, and it goes without saying the Knights will be glad about it.

He may not have set the world on fire at NRL level, but he has plenty of potential that he simply hasn't been able to reach thanks to his long history with injury issues.

The former Shark needs to make 2024 his own though if he is going to reach that potential at any stage, and he could well be a steadying hand who can ensure the Knights kick on from their 2023 form.

How will Kai Pearce-Paul fit at NRL level?

One of the signings Newcastle have made this year comes directly from England, with second-rower Kai Pearce-Paul joining the club ahead of the new campaign.

At just 22 years of age, Pearce-Paul has more than 60 Super League games under his belt and also has three Tests for England under his belt, having made his debut for the nation during the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.

This signing for the Knights was confirmed in December of 2022, so it has been a long time coming, with Pearce-Paul to be joined by another young Englishman in Australia in young five-eighth Will Pryce.

Whether Pearce-Paul is fit to start the season remains to be seen after some off-season injury troubles, but when he does get onto the field, he is the likely replacement - and frankly, improvement - for Lachlan Fitzgibbon, who has gone in the other direction to the English Super League.

That's not a knock on Fitzgibbon, and he had what can only be described as career-best form at the back end of 2023, but Pearce-Paul has all the abilities to be an upgrade.

The question, of course, is just how quickly he can adapt to NRL level.