KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien faces one of the toughest selection decisions of his career as he prepares to today name his halves for Thursday's season-opening clash with Canberra at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Incumbent playmakers Jackson Hastings and Tyson Gamble are under pressure after the arrival of Jack Cogger, who produced a memorable cameo off the bench last year to help Penrith win a third straight grand final.
Hastings and Gamble steered Newcastle into the 2023 play-offs and started in both pre-season trials, with Cogger deployed as a bench utility.
But Knights legend Matthew Johns believes 26-year-old Cogger, who has returned to Newcastle after stints with Canterbury, Huddersfield and the Panthers, should be the first half chosen.
"I'm a really big fan of Cogger ... in my opinion, he is a must. He'll start," Johns told AAP.
"Jack has started to understand his own game and what works for him. His contribution in the grand final for Penrith has been so greatly under-appreciated. The confidence it must have given Jack."
Johns said he expected Hastings to retain his spot, which would mean a new role for Gamble, who after arriving from Brisbane last season proceeded to make 24 appearances for Newcastle, which included their 10-game winning streak.
"Gamble originally was brought to the club to play a little bit of utility and the No.13 role, so I wouldn't be surprised if he slips back into that role, whether it be starting, or coming off the bench," Johns said.
The likely absence of Jayden Brailey, who is recovering from a minor hamstring strain, could sway O'Brien in Gamble's favour.
Brailey, returning from a knee reconstruction, had been expected to share the hooking duties in a tag-team combination with Phoenix Crossland. But Brailey's unavailability could leave Cogger as the ideal bench handyman for O'Brien.
While the Central Coast junior is better known as a half or five-eighth, he started as hooker in two games for the Panthers last season.
The rest of O'Brien's squad is expected to pick itself.
Experienced Enari Tuala is understood to have won the race to replace departed Dominic Young on Newcastle's right wing, beating former Penrith speedster Tom Jenkins. \
Dylan Lucas's form in the trials appears likely to clinch him a starting back-row position ahead of high-profile English recruit Kai Pearce-Paul.
