Sporting Declaration: What did the Knights ever see in Anthony Milford?

When it emerged about 12 months ago that the Newcastle Knights were interested in signing Anthony Milford, I found myself wondering what on earth they saw in him.

A teenage prodigy, the utility back came within a few seconds of winning the Clive Churchill Medal in the 2015 grand final, but six years later he suffered the ignominy of being dropped to Queensland Cup side Souths Logan Magpies, while continuing to collect a reported $1 million a year as Brisbane's highest-paid player.

When that contract ended, the Broncos not surprisingly showed no interest in extending it, and Milford wasn't exactly inundated with offers from rival clubs.

But it wasn't just the fact he had become one of the most maligned players in the NRL that raised my eyebrow, once the Knights eventually confirmed their intention to sign him.

There was also the issue of assault charges he was facing in Brisbane Magistrates Court after an off-field incident involving a woman in September, 2021.

The court case prompted the NRL to refuse to register a proposed contract with South Sydney, and even after the assault charges were eventually dismissed, the governing body suspended him until round 11 last season and ordered him to complete mandatory rehabilitation programs.

In a media release, the NRL declared: "The agreed facts [tendered in court] state that Milford's actions caused the woman to fall and hit her head on concrete.

"These are matters which are naturally of serious concern to the NRL."

The statement added: "The NRL has zero tolerance for any form of violence involving women and will always take serious action in relation to such incidents."

Nonetheless, the Knights - who baulked 12 months earlier when fans threatened to tear up season tickets if they recruited controversial Matthew Lodge - went ahead and signed Milford, and he debuted for them in May last year, coincidentally in a 36-12 loss to his former Brisbane teammates.

He proceeded to play out the season with them, even after news broke with seven games to play that he had signed a two-year deal to join former coach Wayne Bennett at new franchise the Dolphins.

At the time, Knights coach Adam O'Brien described Milford as "a real valuable part of our team", adding: "I'd love for him to stay."

Milford said in an interview with the Courier-Mail newspaper: "It was a pretty hard decision ... the Knights offered me a longer-term deal than the Dolphins, but I wanted to stick to my word to Wayne and made sure I stayed loyal to people who were loyal to me."

Eight months down the track, it seems Bennett is having some misgivings after omitting Milford from the Dolphins' round-one team to face the Roosters on Sunday and firing a remarkable broadside at the 28-year-old.

"The reality is where does Anthony want to be in 12 months time? Does he want to be back on top of his game or in and out of the team like a yo-yo?" Bennett told the Courier-Mail this week. "... he has to make a decision whether he is really committed to getting better. Or is he happy just doing what he is doing and just cruising through life?"

All of which left me reflecting on the Knights' desperation to not only bring Milford to Newcastle in the first place, but to apparently offer him a three-season contract to re-sign.

Maybe statistics don't tell the full story, but Newcastle won only three of the 13 games in which he played. They had won three from 11 before he arrived.

In those 13 games, Milford scored no tries but produced eight try assists, forced nine goal-line dropouts and missed 53 of the 230 tackles he attempted (23 per cent).

To put that in context, in Adam Clune's 18 games for Newcastle last season, he scored two tries, produced 12 try assists, forced 13 line drop-outs and missed 62 of the 395 tackles he attempted (15 per cent).

Yet Clune will start this season in NSW Cup and Milford, had he accepted Newcastle's deal, would presumably have run out in the No.6 jersey in their season-opener against the Warriors.

Moreover, had the Knights been successful in their quest to sign the equally enigmatic Luke Brooks from Wests Tigers, it could well have been that their fortunes for the next few seasons hinged on a Brooks-Milford scrumbase combination.

Does anyone else find that slightly mind-boggling?

Fans should feel mightily relieved that the Knights have ended up with a spine this season comprising Lachlan Miller, Kalyn Ponga, Jackson Hastings and Jayden Brailey, although is that down to good luck, or good management?

Meanwhile, up in Redcliffe, Bennett pulled a selection surprise this week when he named little-known Kurt Donoghoe for his NRL debut, as a bench utility.

Donoghoe, a Central Newcastle junior, grew up with dreams of playing NRL for the Knights and starred in their Jersey Flegg (under-21) grand final team last season.

Signed on spec by the Dolphins on a train-and trial deal, he has now beaten marquee man Milford for a spot in their first 17.

Sometimes, as they say, you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

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