Knights enter race for Lolohea
NEWCASTLE Knights are the latest NRL club to enter the race to sign Tuimoala Lolohea as the battle heats up.
The 22-year-old has been told by the Warriors they will grant him an early release from his contract, which ends at the end of the 2019 season.
The Knights have made a late pitch and want him at five-eighth to partner Trent Hodkinson in the halves.
With Kalyn Ponga moving to the Knights to play fullback and the fast improving New Zealander Danny Levi at hooker, it would give them a considerable upgrade to their spine.
Knights coach Nathan Brown has been trying to steadily build up his team from the lowly point they were at last season.
He was interested in Kiwi Shaun Kenny-Dowall also and was close to offering him a threeyear deal, but it’s believed the Knights have gone cold on the player currently at the Roosters, because of his cocaine bust at a nightclub last week.
The Knights have played better this year, even though they’ve just had one win, but Brown has been given time and resources to return the club to their former glories.
Lolohea would be seen as a pivotal part of that revival in the Hunter region.
However, there’s a twist to the hunt for Lolohea as the North Queensland Cowboys see him as their replacement for Ponga in the No 1 jersey. However, it’s uncertain where they’d look to use him.
Lolohea wants to go to a club where he’s locked into one position, something that was never the case at the Warriors.
Some clubs wanted to watch him play at five-eighth in last night’s test for Tonga against Fiji.
But others have already tabled their offers and Lolohea will soon decide which is the best option for him.
He had a meeting with former Warriors coach Ivan Cleary on Thursday, which was instigated by Wests Tigers and is believed to have gone well.
At the Tigers Lolohea would play fullback, as a replacement for the Roosters-bound James Tedesco, or at five-eighth if Mitchell Moses is granted an early release to join the Parramatta Eels.
Lolohea would already know Elijah Taylor at the Tigers and Ben Matulino is heading there from the Warriors next season, but 2018 could be a tough year for the joint venture with Aaron Woods also confirming he’s heading to the Bulldogs next year.
When Lolohea returns back in Auckland next week, he’ll think about what his next step will be and may have to balance playing for a successful team but not in his favoured position of fiveeighth, or going to a club that’s still going through a rebuilding phase, but being able to run out with the No 6 on his back. ❏ Meanwhile, Australian players and officials are still dirty that the City-County concept is being scrapped.
Coaches of both sides, Brad Fittler and Craig Fitzgibbon aired their frustration yesterday, joining the likes of former Country greats Michael Cronin and Garry Jack who had vented their spleen during the week.
When asked how the league could help better serve the country in the future, Fitzgibbon was most blunt.
‘‘The most logical answer is don’t put an NRL game on four days after a representative fixture,’’ he said.
Country captain Mitchell Aubusson promised to call upon the spirit of Country legends like Fitzgibbon and Andrew Ryan, who he identified as heroes in the maroon-and-yellow jersey.
‘‘I felt like every time players wore that country jersey they were playing for me as a young kid who played in the country,’’ he said.