Playing for keeps: the Newcastle Knights players off-contract in 2023

More than a third of Newcastle's top-30 roster, 10 players including Young, is unsigned beyond this year.

Back-rowers Tyson Frizell and Lachlan Fitzgibbon, outside-backs Hymel Hunt and Enari Tuala, and utility Kurt Mann are all without a deal for 2024. Likewise halfback Adam Clune, forward Brodie Jones and squad players Jack Johns and Bailey Hodgson.

Apart from Young, the Knights will likely wait to see how the majority of the bunch perform this season.

But with an average six players from the top-30 roster leaving the club annually over the past five years, some are unlikely to be retained.

The Newcastle Herald has assessed how each player is placed ahead of the 2023 season and first trial next week.

Took up an option last year to remain at the Knights for a third season and had arguably his best campaign yet at the club in 2022, winning the Danny Buderus Medal. He also emerged as more of a leader, captaining the side in Kalyn Ponga's absence.

Newcastle's second oldest player at 31, Frizell remains a damaging ball-runner and workaholic in defence. The former NSW and Australian representative is entering the back end of his career, but still has plenty to offer. His experience could be invaluable given the crop of youngsters now coming through.

Knights officials and fans would love to see the homegrown product fit and firing this season. But after a couple of injury-plagued years, the Knights may have to weigh up the 28-year-old's value should he spend a considerable amount of time on the sidelines again in 2023.

At his best, Fitzgibbon is a strike edge-forward who knows how to hit a gap and find the try-line. The 98-game back-rower had surgery late last year on a troublesome shoulder but recently declared himself right to go. "It wouldn't matter if a car hit it," he said.

Brought to the club by former coach Nathan Brown to play hooker, Mann has been a Mr Fix-It over the past four seasons.

He has played every position in the backline, along with hooker, and was last year deployed as a ball-playing lock. But played just 11 games due to injury, making it difficult to judge whether the positional switch was a success.

Didn't have a great end to the year with the toilet-cubicle drama and in need of a big 2023.

Up until last season, Hunt was one of Newcastle's most dependable players - averaging 20 games a year.

But in 2022, he played only one NRL game due to lengthy back-to-back injuries.

A bit of a journeyman who has also played for the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Souths, the 29-year-old outside-back needs to get some runs on the board this season but may have to wait for an opportunity to do so in the NRL side.

Tuala has proved a handy player to have on the roster over the past three years, making 66 appearances.

A centre/winger, he played 21 games last year despite not having a hold on a starting spot. His versatility to play either position and both sides of the field has proved beneficial. The 24-year-old has scored 32 tries for the club, but is also prone to letting one in. Interest from elsewhere might influence where he ends up next year.

Clune played a greater role than anticipated last year after veteran No.7 Mitchell Pearce left the club early. He admirably tried to steer a struggling side around the park, but a knee injury hampered his season. Now down the pecking order as a halves option, which could prompt him to seek opportunities elsewhere next year.

Struggled to have the same impact last year as he did the season prior, a 22-game campaign. Finished 2022 on the right note with eight consecutive appearances, which should provide confidence. Some consistent footy will help, but needs to make the most of his chances.

Johns is yet to crack regular game time in first grade at the Knights, playing only three games last season. He suffered an arm injury when given a chance to start mid-year which didn't help his cause, but played a further 11 games in reserve grade. The back-rower be desperate for an opportunity in 2023.

A torrid run of injuries over the past two years has restricted the 20-year-old fullback to just a handful of lower-grade games.

The Englishman was highly rated as a teenager, but needs to find his feet in NSW Cup before anything else.