Outside of Kangaroo prop David Klemmer, no-one is signed to a longer term contract at the Knights than boom teenage centre Bradman Best.
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It’s a sure sign of the potential of a kid with arguably the greatest name in rugby league.
Best doesn’t turn 18 until August and won’t be eligible to play in the NRL until then but there are already those who claim it is simply a matter of when and not if for the talented Woy Woy junior.
His NSW Under 18’s Origin coach from last season, former Bulldogs premiership-winner and Test prop Mark O’Meley, thinks so highly of him, he says Best would have already debuted had his age permitted him.
But the young centre, who has been in the Knights system since he was 13, is not getting ahead of himself.
He has signed with the club until the end of the 2022 season and knows there are no guarantees and plenty of hard work ahead if he is to live up to the expectation and hype.
“I’ve still got another year in S G Ball and I want to play NSW Under 18’s again if I can but hopefully, I can work my way into the Under 20’s and hold my own and maybe, at the back-end of the year if I’m doing okay, try and play some NSW Cup as well,” he said.
Just back from the Australian Schoolboys tour to England, the son of former Manly top-grader Roger Best, has been nursing a knee medial ligament strain that he suffered in the opening minute of the second Test but has been training with the fulltime NRL squad.
He has dropped out of his final year at school to move to Newcastle and will start an electrical apprenticeship in March.
“School – it wasn’t really for me. I didn’t like it,”he said.
“I wasn’t learning anything and was just turning up because I had to.
“The Knights have really looked after me from day one. They’ve helped me to get a job as an apprentice electrician.
“I just wanted to do something hands on and get a trade under my belt.
“I was happy to sign and commit here for another four years. I had a few offers from other clubs but I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else because the club has been so good to me.
“Getting to train with the NRL boys – it’s mad. You just learn so much.”
As for the elephant in the room – his name – Best laughs when he says he has never even played cricket.
“Mum and Dad were at a party and were apparently asking for ideas for names and someone just threw up Bradman,” he said.
“They liked it and decided to go with it. I don’t know, they must just like the ‘B’ names. My 13-year-old younger brother’s first name is Baxter.”
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Best says he gets called ‘Don’ and ‘Donny’ regularly and while being named after Australia’s greatest cricketer used to “get a bit annoying, I’m alright with it”.
“I’ve never heard anyone else with the same first name so I guess that makes it pretty special,” he said.
