The Knights are reportedly set for a huge salary cap overhaul with recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan set to cut $2 million worth of talent free ahead of the 2025 season.
O’Sullivan, after a successful stint building the Dolphins inuaguaral roster, left the NRL’s franchise and joined the Newcastle club in recent weeks.
Now, according to The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read, he’s set to swing the axe after “looking under the bonnet” and analysing some of the biggest Knights star’s salaries.
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“They’ve got cap issues, that’s for sure. Peter O’Sullivan has gone in and had a look under the bonnet and I don’t think he’s happy,” Read said on NRL360 on Monday night.
“You can’t be over the cap because the NRL won’t register the contracts, they can’t be. They are in a position where their rosters spots are filled.
“So they can’t sign more players because their cap is at its absolute limit. If they sign any more players they will go over the cap, and you’ve got to sign 30 players.”
Read then went on to reveal the three players who will reportedly be looking for a new club ahead of the 2025 season.
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Should all three of the players depart, the Knights are set to be armed with a $2 million war chest to utilise in O’Sullivan’s attempts to recruit players in the off-season.
“They will because they will let go of say Daniel Saifiti who has been told he’s free to leave and he’s on $800,000,” Read said.
“Jack Hetherington, I don’t think (Jayden) Brailey has been told right now he can go, but it will happen I imagine in the next week or so that he’s told he can find something else.
“But if you add those three blokes together that’s almost $2 million out of your salary cap.”
So who could the Knights sign? Read explained:They are in for Blaize Talagi, that’s been pretty well documented, they spoke to Lachlan Ilias at one point”.
While the Knights were able to secure one of rugby league’s best recruitment minds in O’Sullivan, a potential conflict of interest was questioned.
It was revealed the man who brokered both O’Sullivan’s release from the Dolphins and his new contract with the Knights was agent Isaac Moses.
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Moses currently manages Knights coach Adam O’Brien and also has Talagi, one of the club’s top targets, on his books.
“Can we be fair dinkum, Isaac Moses, manages Adam O’Brien. He did the Peter O’Sullivan deal,” The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield said.
“To make my point, the three players being shown the door are managed by (other) people and the new players to replace them are from one agent.”
For Anasta, Moses’ involvement in O’Sullivan’s release from the Dolphins whilst being the manager of his new club’s coach is a “dangerous precedent”.
Meanwhile, rugby league legend Gorden Tallis added: “I just think it’s a bad look for the fans”.
Rothfield also echoed Anasta’s opinion and said: “Peter O’Sullivan has a great track record, Storm, Roosters, Dolphins, but what I’m saying is I will back him to rebuild Newcastle.
“It is an unfortunate position to be in now if he brings in a big Isaac Moses player.”