# 2019 Newcastle Knights season

The 2019 Newcastle Knights season was the 32nd in the club's history. Coached by Nathan Brown, interim coached by Kristian Woolf after Brown's contract was terminated, and captained by Mitchell Pearce, they competed in the NRL's 2019 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 11th place (out of 16).

## Milestones

* Round 1: James Gavet made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the New Zealand Warriors.
* Round 1: Tim Glasby made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Melbourne Storm and scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 1: Hymel Hunt made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
* Round 1: David Klemmer made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
* Round 1: Edrick Lee made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 1: Kurt Mann made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the St. George Illawarra Dragons.
* Round 1: Jesse Ramien made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
* Round 3: Hymel Hunt played his 50th career game.
* Round 3: Jesse Ramien scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 4: Hymel Hunt scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 4: Edrick Lee scored his 50th career try.
* Round 4: Mason Lino made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the New Zealand Warriors.
* Round 6: Mitchell Barnett kicked his 1st career goal.
* Round 7: James Gavet scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 9: Lachlan Fitzgibbon played his 50th career game.
* Round 9: Edrick Lee played his 100th career game.
* Round 10: Nathan Brown won his 100th career game as coach.
* Round 10: Kurt Mann scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 13: Mason Lino kicked his 1st goal for the club.
* Round 13: Sione Mata'utia played his 100th career game.
* Round 15: Mason Lino scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 16: Phoenix Crossland made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 16: Shaun Kenny-Dowall captained his 1st game for the club.
* Round 16: Kurt Mann played his 100th career game.
* Round 21: Shaun Kenny-Dowall played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 21: Jacob Saifiti played his 50th career game.
* Round 22: Josh King played his 50th career game.
* Round 23: Bradman Best made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 24: Bradman Best scored his 1st career try.
* Round 25: Starford To'a made his NRL debut for the club and scored his 1st career try.

## Transfers and Re-signings
### Gains

| Player/Coach | Previous Club | Length |
| Sale Finau | Melbourne Storm | 2019 |
| James Gavet | New Zealand Warriors | 2020 |
| Tim Glasby | Melbourne Storm | 2021 |
| Hymel Hunt | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2019 |
| David Klemmer | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2023 |
| Edrick Lee | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2021 |
| Mason Lino | New Zealand Warriors | 2020 |
| Kurt Mann | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2021 |
| Jesse Ramien | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2020 |
| Kristian Woolf (assistant coach & interim head coach) | Townsville Blackhawks | 2019 |
| Zac Woolford | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2019 |

### Losses

| Player/Coach | Club |
| Tyrone Amey | Maitland Pickers |
| Jack Cogger | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Matt Cooper | Eastern Suburbs Tigers |
| Thomas Cronan | South Newcastle Lions |
| Cory Denniss | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| JJ Felise | Canberra Raiders |
| Christian Hazard | Tweed Heads Seagulls |
| Chris Heighington | Retirement |
| Trent Hodkinson | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Tom Hughes | Eastern Suburbs Tigers |
| Jack Johns | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Brock Lamb | Sydney Roosters |
| Jacob Lillyman | Retirement |
| Todd Lowrie (Jersey Flegg Cup coach) | Released |
| Jock Madden | Wests Tigers |
| Chanel Mata'utia | Cessnock Goannas |
| Pat Mata'utia | Western Suburbs Rosellas |
| Nick Meaney | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Brent Naden | Penrith Panthers |
| Dylan Phythian | Contract terminated |
| Michael Potter (assistant coach) | Released |
| Ken Sio | Salford Red Devils |
| Tom Starling | Canberra Raiders |
| Simon Woolford (ISP NSW coach) | Huddersfield Giants |
| Luke Yates | London Broncos |

### Promoted juniors

| Player | Junior side |
| Mitch Andrews | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Bradman Best | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Kiah Cooper | Knights Intrust Super Premiership NSW |
| Mat Croker | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Phoenix Crossland | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Beau Fermor | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Jacob Gagai | Knights Intrust Super Premiership NSW |
| Tex Hoy | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Luke Huth | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Jirah Momoisea | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Chris Randall | Knights Intrust Super Premiership NSW |
| Simi Sasagi | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |
| Starford To'a | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup |

### Change of role

| Player/Coach | New role |
| Scott Dureau (S. G. Ball Cup coach) | Knights Jersey Flegg Cup coach |
| Zac Hosking | Knights second-tier squad |

### Re-signings

| Player/Coach | Re-signed to |
| Bradman Best | 2022 |
| Phoenix Crossland | 2021 |
| Beau Fermor | 2020 |
| Lachlan Fitzgibbon | 2021 |
| Tex Hoy | 2021 |
| Jirah Momoisea | 2020 |
| Simi Sasagi | 2020 |
| Starford To'a | 2021 |

### Player contract situations

| 2019 (left) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Mitch Andrews | Mitchell Barnett | Phoenix Crossland | Bradman Best | David Klemmer |
| Jamie Buhrer | Mat Croker | Lachlan Fitzgibbon | | |
| Kiah Cooper | Herman Ese'ese | Tim Glasby | | |
| Sale Finau | Beau Fermor | Tex Hoy | | |
| Jacob Gagai | Aidan Guerra | Edrick Lee | | |
| James Gavet | Hymel Hunt | Kurt Mann | | |
| Slade Griffin | Luke Huth | Sione Mata'utia | | |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | Brodie Jones | Mitchell Pearce | | |
| Brayden Musgrove | Josh King | Kalyn Ponga | | |
| Jesse Ramien | Danny Levi | Starford To'a | | |
| Nathan Ross | Mason Lino | | | |
| Sam Stone | Tautau Moga | | | |
| Zac Woolford | Jirah Momoisea | | | |
| | Chris Randall | | | |
| | Daniel Saifiti | | | |
| | Jacob Saifiti | | | |
| | Simi Sasagi | | | |
| | Pasami Saulo | | | |
| | Connor Watson | | | |

## Ladder

2019 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 631 | 300 | +331 | 42 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 627 | 363 | +264 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 521 | 417 | +104 | 34 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 524 | 374 | +150 | 32 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 533 | 473 | +60 | 30 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 496 | 446 | +50 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 514 | 464 | +50 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 432 | 489 | −57 | 25 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 475 | 486 | −11 | 24 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 413 | 474 | −61 | 24 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 485 | 522 | −37 | 22 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 326 | 477 | −151 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 433 | 574 | −141 | 21 |
| 14 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 378 | 500 | −122 | 20 |
| 15 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 427 | 575 | −148 | 18 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 370 | 651 | −281 | 10 |

## Jerseys and sponsors

In 2019, the Knights' jerseys were made by ISC and their major sponsor is nib Health Funds.
| 2019 Home Jersey | 2019 Away Jersey | 2019 Indigenous Jersey | 2019 NSW Mining Jersey |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season trials

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 23 February | Trial 1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 10 – 18 | L.Fitzgibbon, E.Lee | K.Ponga (1/2) |
| Saturday, 2 March | Trial 2 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Maitland No.1 Sportsground | 6 – 30 | S.To'a | K.Ponga (1/1) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 15 March | 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | McDonald Jones Stadium | 14 – 8 | T. Glasby, E. Lee | K. Ponga (3/3) | 21,813 |
| 23 March | 2 | Penrith Panthers | McDonald Jones Stadium | 14 – 16 | M. Barnett, E. Lee | K. Ponga (3/5) | 19,451 |
| 29 March | 3 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 10 – 17 | S. Kenny-Dowall, J. Ramien | K. Ponga (1/2) | 10,585 |
| 7 April | 4 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | McDonald Jones Stadium | 12-13 | E. Lee, H. Hunt. | K. Ponga (1/2) | 19,105 |
| 13 April | 5 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | McDonald Jones Stadium | 18-26 | E. Lee, A. Guerra, M. Barnett | K. Ponga (3/3) | 21,779 |
| 21 April | 6 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 38-14 | H. Hunt, M. Barnett, K. Ponga | M. Barnett (1/3) | 11,654 |
| 28 April | 7 | Parramatta Eels | McDonald Jones Stadium | 28-14 | K. Ponga, L. Fitzgibbon, J. Gavet, M. Pearce | K. Ponga (4/4) | 19,604 |
| 5 May | 8 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium | 36-18 | M. Pearce, S. Kenny-Dowall, S. Mata'utia, H. Hunt, K. Ponga | K. Ponga (4/4) | 14,975 |
| 11 May | 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Suncorp Stadium | 22-10 | H. Hunt, M. Pearce, L. Fitzgibbon, K. Ponga | K. Ponga (3/4) | 25,292 |
| 19 May | 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Glen Willow Oval | 45-12 | T. Glasby, K. Ponga 2, K. Mann, S. Kenny-Dowall, M. Pearce, C. Watson | K. Ponga (6/7) | 9,267 |
| 24 May | 11 | Sydney Roosters | McDonald Jones Stadium | 38-12 | H. Hunt, K. Ponga, M. Pearce, C. Watson, E. Lee | K. Ponga (7/7) M. Barnett (2/2) | 25,929 |
| | 12 | Bye | | | | | |
| 7 June | 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium | 20-12 | H. Hunt, M. Barnett, C. Watson | M. Lino (4/5) | 8,253 |
| 15 June | 14 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 34-4 | H. Hunt | - | 16,313 |
| 29 June | 15 | Brisbane Broncos | McDonald Jones Stadium | 26-12 | E. Lee, L. Fitzgibbon, S. Kenny-Dowall, M. Lino | M. Lino (5/5) | 24,397 |
| 6 July | 16 | New Zealand Warriors | McDonald Jones Stadium | | | | |
| 12 July | 17 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | McDonald Jones Stadium | | | | |
| 20 July | 18 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground | | | | |
| 26 July | 19 | Wests Tigers | McDonald Jones Stadium | | | | |
| 3 August | 20 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Lottoland | | | | |
| 10 August | 21 | Parramatta Eels | Bankwest Stadium | | | | |
| 17 August | 22 | North Queensland Cowboys | McDonald Jones Stadium | | | | |
| 24 August | 23 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | | | | |
| 31 August | 24 | Gold Coast Titans | McDonald Jones Stadium | | | | |
| 8 September | 25 | Penrith Panthers | Panthers Stadium | | | | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points | Captain | Age |
| Mitchell Barnett | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 25 |
| Bradman Best | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| Jamie Buhrer | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| Phoenix Crossland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Herman Ese'ese | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| Lachlan Fitzgibbon | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 25 |
| James Gavet | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 |
| Tim Glasby | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| Aidan Guerra | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 31 |
| Hymel Hunt | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 26 |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 31 |
| Josh King | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| David Klemmer | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Edrick Lee | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
| Danny Levi | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Mason Lino | 12 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 25 |
| Kurt Mann | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 |
| Sione Mata'utia | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 23 |
| Tautau Moga | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 26 |
| Mitchell Pearce | 23 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 23 | 30 |
| Kalyn Ponga | 20 | 11 | 48 | 0 | 140 | 0 | 21 |
| Jesse Ramien | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| Daniel Saifiti | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Jacob Saifiti | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Pasami Saulo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Starford To'a | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| Connor Watson | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 23 |
| Totals | 24 | 79 | 84 | 1 | 485 | - | Average: 25 |
27 players used.
Source:

## Representative honours

The following players appeared in a representative match in 2019.
Australia
* David Klemmer
Australian Men's Nines
* Kalyn Ponga
Australian Schoolboys
* Mitchell Black
* Cooper Jenkins
Indigenous All Stars
* Jesse Ramien
Junior Kangaroos
* Kalyn Ponga
Junior Kiwis
* Christian Ma'anaima
* Simi Sasagi (squad member)
* Daniel Ticehurst
* Starford To'a
Māori All Stars
* Danny Levi
* Kalyn Ponga
New South Wales
* David Klemmer
* Mitchell Pearce
* Daniel Saifiti
New South Wales under-16s
* Max Bradbury
* Lachlan Crouch
* Oryn Keeley
* Fletcher Myers
* Noah Nailagoliva
* Jonah Pezet
* Noah Reed
New South Wales under-18s
* Bradman Best
* Mitchell Black
New South Wales under-20s
* Mat Croker
* Phoenix Crossland (20th man)
* Tex Hoy
* Luke Huth
New Zealand Nines
* Starford To'a (squad member)
Queensland
* Tim Glasby
* Kalyn Ponga
Queensland under-20s
* Brandon Russell (squad member)
Samoa
* Herman Ese'ese
* James Gavet
* Hymel Hunt
* Mason Lino
Samoan Nines
* James Gavet (squad member)
* Danny Levi
Tonga
* Kristian Woolf (coach)