Knights coach Adam O’Brien will wait until his squad is finalised before deciding what position skipper Kalyn Ponga will play next season amid conjecture Luke Brooks will join the team.
Reports emerged Ponga will be switched to five-eighth after the club let Jake Clifford go to join the Super League, while rumours Brooks will be released from the final year of his Tigers deal to switch to Newcastle won’t go away.
O’Brien explained the decision to release Clifford was a mutual one between the player and club.
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“It was a mutual decision by the club and Jake Clifford and I think it will be great for him,” O’Brien said.
“You have seen over the last few years halves going over to England.
“You look at a guy like Brodie Croft going over there and getting Man of Steel.
“I think it would be really good for Jake to go over there and play a long season, a 20 game season and run a team.
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“I think it will only be beneficial for his career. We wish him all the best and this is not the end of Jake Clifford’s NRL career. This will help him to no end.”
O’Brien admitted Ponga will prepare for the season in both the fullback and five-eighth positions, but he remains undecided on whether his captain will make a permanent switch to the halves.
“I haven’t completely decided on it yet,” O’Brien said.
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“We will make a decision around the playing list when it is finalised and that is always evolving.
“He is not required back yet. We haven’t sat down and had complete discussions.
“Yes we have skirted around it. Is he doing some components of five-eighth in his own training? Yeah he is.
“But we will sit down once the list is finalised and see what team we have got and how it all best fits and we will get on with it.
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“But right now we are focused on the physical elements of the program.”
O’Brien was pressed on the potential recruitment of Brooks for 2023 and where the club stands on luring the No.7 to the Knights, given the saga has lasted since the 2022 pre-season.
“I’m not too sure, I am the footy coach,” O’Brien said of the club’s links to Brooks.
“I will coach these boys that are out here right now and when the list is finalised I will coach that list.”
Regardless of who his halves will be, O’Brien is convinced his side are on track for a better pre-season already, as they aim to turn around their 14th place finish in 2022.
“We are four days in and I am happy at this point in time with the standard of the group,” O’Brien said.
“There’s no secret I’m a firm believer and that is how I was brought up through coaching that you give yourself a really strong chance of having a good season based on your pre-season.
“There is outliers to that. Some guys can’t complete a full pre-season whether it be due to surgery, but it doesn’t mean you have a poor season.
“But I know with the list that we have got and the length of time that we have got this season that I would like to think we have learnt from some stuff from last season.
“But that’s probably as far back as I want to go now. I just want to keep moving forward.”
