Newcastle halfback Brock Lamb may not be a Knight next season, given his desire to lock down a starting role in the halves.
The 21-year-old has played 32 NRL games over the past two-and-a-half years but wants to see a more permanent role, and could look elsewhere if Newcastle can't provide that for him.
Knights coach Nathan Brown would love to keep Lamb around, although he conceded to theherald.com.au that may not be enough to keep him at McDonald Jones Stadium if a rival club is able to offer Lamb what he desires.
“We made it quite clear from the start that Brock is part of our plans, going forward,’’ Brown told the Newcastle Herald.
“From talking to his manager, Brock would like be a starting halfback, and obviously at our club that’s Mitchell’s position.
“I’m sure they’ve had a look around, but what is out there and where that is at, I’m not quite sure … If Brock was to get offered a starting position at another club, that’s when it would become difficult for us.”
Brown has admitted it'll be tough to keep the playmaker around next season, given the disparity between the asking price of both parties.
“His manager would probably tell you we haven’t made him an offer, but the money that he wants to get paid, it’s probably not feasible for us to have our back-up halfback on that type of money,” Brown added.
“We’ve made it very clear to Brock we would like him to stay, but they’ve also made it very clear where they’re at as well. Ultimately, these things come down to dollars and cents. It’s got to work for Brock and it’s got to work for the Knights as well.
“Where he’ll be next year is anyone’s guess.”