There were certainly some positive strides taken during the season with signs of improvement in some key areas. But feeling contented with a top eight finish papers over the cracks of the side's final six weeks of the campaign.

In some respects, it wasn't too dissimilar to what happened at the back-end of 2019 when the wheels fell off and the side crashed out of contention.

Consider this. Of their last six games this season, the Knights won just two, conceding more than 31 points per game. In their two biggest matches of the season against the Titans in the final round and Souths in the final, the side gave up a staggering 82 points.

Where was the defensive resilience that was a hallmark of some of their early season performances when it mattered most?

It begs the question: Where would the side have finished had it been a normal season and the competition went a further four rounds? Would they have even made the finals?

To be fair, the club faced more than it's fair share of adversity with injuries and you could argue a really tough early travel schedule impacted on the squad late.

But even with the return of injured stars Jayden Brailey and Connor Watson and the addition of new recruit Tyson Frizell, this footy side still has plenty of ground to make up to become a consistent challenger for the title.

No-one will realise that more than the coach and players.

Suggestions St Helens may be interested in signing Knights backrower Sione Mata'utia for next season may have some legs.

Former Knights coach Kristian Woolf is in charge of the Saints and is a Mata'utia fan and the former Knights captain's brother Peter is currently in England playing for Castleford. Sione's under contract to the Knights for another year but if he was able to secure a long-term deal in England, it's not out of the question he may wish to pursue the opportunity.

One of the more ridiculous rumours doing the rounds since last Sunday was the Knights are working on a swap deal that would see Kurt Mann return to the Dragons and Corey Norman join the Knights. Who comes up with these?

Rookie Knights hooker Luke Huth during his interview after winning the Knights' Person of the Year award on Thursday night: "I'm shitting myself up here."

In a sure sign Adam O'Brien has plenty of faith in his existing footy staff, the Knights coach has decided to promote from within to fill the assistant coaching void left by the departure of the highly experienced David Furner.

Furner cut short his contract at the club by two years and has returned to Sydney for family reasons after just one season. He will take up the same role he had at the Knights with the Bulldogs under incoming head coach Trent Barrett.

Since Furner made his decision, O'Brien spoke to a number of potential coaching recruits from outside the club including the likes of Dean Young and Stephen Kearney. But he was always of the view he was comfortable with who he already had in the system in Newcastle.

So it's no real surprise he has opted to elevate Rory Kostjasyn, who coached the club's NSW Cup side in 2018 and 2019 before becoming an NRL development coach this year under O'Brien, into the assistant's role alongside Willie Peters.

It's the same coaching pathway O'Brien himself took at the Melbourne Storm under Craig Bellamy.

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It's understood the club's other development coach Eric Smith will also take on some added responsibilities.

Veteran playmaker Blake Green, who made such a big impression on the club in a short time, has been tossed up as a possible development coach replacement for Kostjasyn if he was to seek a mutual release from the one year deal he signed at the Bulldogs before suffering an ACL rupture.

Meanwhile, the club will go through a selection process before naming coaches for the Under 17's, 19's, 21's and NSW Cup for 2021.

Luckless Knights centre Tautau Moga may have to look to the English Super League if he wants to continue his professional playing career with the likelihood of him picking up a new contract with an NRL club after four knee reconstructions considered highly unlikely.

In a decision that won't come as a surprise to anyone, Moga has been told there will be no new deal for him at Newcastle after he played just 14 top grade games in his three seasons with the club.

He suffered his fourth serious knee injury back in 2018, just four games after linking with the Knights from Brisbane and despite working hard to get himself back on the field last season, hasn't been able to recapture his Broncos form from 2017.

He was used just four times by coach Adam O'Brien this season with the loss of lateral movement because of the surgeries a big factor in his struggles defensively.

While Moga's fate has been decided, the futures of a number of other off-contract players remains uncertain with the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association yet to work out what the salary cap will be for next season or how many players clubs will be able to have in their squad.

There are also decisions to be made around the second tier and what that cap will look like. That's left the likes of Josh King, Chris Randall, Mason Lino and development players Luke Huth and Mat Croker in limbo.

Randall picked up the club's Rookie of the Year award this week but right now, is no certainty of landing a new deal for next year.

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