# 2018 Newcastle Knights season

The 2018 Newcastle Knights season was the 31st in the club's history. Coached by Nathan Brown and co-captained by Jamie Buhrer and Mitchell Pearce, they competed in the NRL's 2018 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 11th place (out of 16).

## Milestones

* Round 1: Herman Ese'ese made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Brisbane Broncos.
* Round 1: Slade Griffin made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Melbourne Storm and scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 1: Aidan Guerra made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Sydney Roosters.
* Round 1: Chris Heighington made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
* Round 1: Jacob Lillyman made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the New Zealand Warriors.
* Round 1: Tautau Moga made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Brisbane Broncos.
* Round 1: Mitchell Pearce made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Sydney Roosters, captained his 1st game for the club and kicked his 1st field goal for the club.
* Round 1: Kalyn Ponga made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the North Queensland Cowboys, scored his 1st try for the club and kicked his 1st career goal.
* Round 1: Connor Watson made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Sydney Roosters.
* Round 2: Aidan Guerra scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 2: Tautau Moga scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 2: Connor Watson scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 4: Chris Heighington scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 5: Danny Levi played his 50th career game.
* Round 5: Nathan Ross played his 50th career game.
* Round 7: Jamie Buhrer played his 150th career game.
* Round 7: Mitchell Pearce scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 7: Daniel Saifiti played his 50th career game.
* Round 8: Aidan Guerra captained his 1st game for the club.
* Round 8: Ken Sio kicked his 1st goal for the club.
* Round 11: Herman Ese'ese scored his 1st try for the club.
* Round 13: Jack Cogger scored his 1st career try.
* Round 16: Connor Watson played his 50th career game.
* Round 18: Nick Meaney made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 19: Mitchell Barnett played his 50th career game.
* Round 19: Nick Meaney scored his 1st career try.
* Round 21: Mitchell Barnett played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 21: Herman Ese'ese played his 50th career game.
* Round 21: JJ Felise made his debut for the club, after previously playing for the Wests Tigers.
* Round 21: Shaun Kenny-Dowall played his 250th career game.
* Round 22: Mitchell Pearce played his 250th career game.
* Round 22: Pasami Saulo made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 25: Nick Meaney kicked his 1st career goal.
* Round 25: Tom Starling made his NRL debut for the club.

## Transfers and Re-signings
### Gains

| Player/Coach | Previous Club | Length |
| Herman Ese'ese | Brisbane Broncos | 2020 |
| JJ Felise | Wests Tigers | 2018 |
| Slade Griffin | Melbourne Storm | 2019 |
| Aidan Guerra | Sydney Roosters | 2020 |
| Christian Hazard | Redcliffe Dolphins | 2018 |
| Chris Heighington | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2018 |
| Jacob Lillyman | New Zealand Warriors | 2018 |
| Tautau Moga | Brisbane Broncos | 2020 |
| Brent Naden | Canberra Raiders | 2018 |
| Mitchell Pearce | Sydney Roosters | 2021 |
| Kalyn Ponga | North Queensland Cowboys | 2021 |
| James Shepherd (assistant coach) | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2018 |
| Connor Watson | Sydney Roosters | 2020 |

### Losses

| Player/Coach | Club |
| David Bhana | Released |
| Brendan Elliot | Gold Coast Titans |
| Jaelen Feeney | Townsville Blackhawks |
| Dane Gagai | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Jacob Gagan | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Heath Gibbs | Wests Tigers |
| Rory Kostjasyn | Retirement |
| Jake Mamo | Huddersfield Giants |
| Sam Mataora | Retirement |
| Peter Mata'utia | Leigh Centurions |
| Sam McIntyre | Wests Tigers |
| Jarrod Mullen | Contract terminated |
| Mickey Paea | Hull F.C. |
| Pauli Pauli | Wakefield Trinity |
| Will Pearsall | Retirement |
| Tyler Randell | Wakefield Trinity |
| Braden Robson | Wests Tigers |
| Korbin Sims | Brisbane Broncos |
| Bradie Smith | Wyong Roos |
| Josh Starling | Retirement |
| Jack Stockwell | Gold Coast Titans |
| Anthony Tupou | Retirement |
| Joe Wardle | Castleford Tigers |
| Kurt Wrigley (assistant coach) | Released |

### Promoted juniors

| Player | Junior side |
| Matt Cooper | Knights National Youth Competition |
| Zac Hosking | Knights National Youth Competition |
| Jack Johns | Knights National Youth Competition |
| Brayden Musgrove | Knights National Youth Competition |

### Change of role

| Player/Coach | New role |
| Rory Kostjasyn (Harold Matthews Cup coach) | Knights Intrust Super Premiership NSW coach |
| Joe Morris | Knights second-tier squad |

### Re-signings

| Player/Coach | Re-signed to |
| Tyrone Amey | 2018 |
| Nathan Brown (head coach) | ongoing contract |
| Jamie Buhrer | 2019 |
| Matt Cooper | 2018 |
| Zac Hosking | 2018 |
| Jack Johns | 2018 |
| Josh King | 2020 |
| Sione Mata'utia | 2021 |
| Brayden Musgrove | 2019 |
| Pasami Saulo | 2020 |
| Sam Stone | 2020 |

### Player contract situations

| 2018 (left) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Tyrone Amey | Jamie Buhrer | Mitchell Barnett | Sione Mata'utia |
| Jack Cogger | Lachlan Fitzgibbon | Herman Ese'ese | Mitchell Pearce |
| Matt Cooper | Slade Griffin | Aidan Guerra | Kalyn Ponga |
| Thomas Cronan | Brodie Jones | Josh King | |
| Cory Denniss | Shaun Kenny-Dowall | Danny Levi | |
| JJ Felise | Brayden Musgrove | Tautau Moga | |
| Christian Hazard | | Nathan Ross | |
| Chris Heighington | | Daniel Saifiti | |
| Trent Hodkinson | | Jacob Saifiti | |
| Zac Hosking | | Pasami Saulo | |
| Tom Hughes | | Sam Stone | |
| Jack Johns | | Connor Watson | |
| Brock Lamb | | | |
| Jacob Lillyman | | | |
| Chanel Mata'utia | | | |
| Pat Mata'utia | | | |
| Nick Meaney | | | |
| Brent Naden | | | |
| Dylan Phythian | | | |
| Ken Sio | | | |
| Tom Starling | | | |
| Luke Yates | | | |

## Ladder

2018 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 542 | 361 | +181 | 34 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 536 | 363 | +173 | 34 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 582 | 437 | +145 | 34 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 519 | 423 | +96 | 34 |
| 5 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 517 | 461 | +56 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 556 | 500 | +56 | 32 |
| 7 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 519 | 472 | +47 | 32 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 472 | 447 | +25 | 32 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 377 | 460 | −83 | 26 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 563 | 540 | +23 | 22 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 414 | 607 | −193 | 20 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 428 | 474 | −46 | 18 |
| 13 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 449 | 521 | −72 | 18 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 472 | 582 | −110 | 18 |
| 15 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 500 | 622 | −122 | 16 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 374 | 550 | −176 | 14 |

## Jerseys and sponsors

In 2018, the Knights' jerseys were made by ISC and their major sponsor was nib Health Funds.
| 2018 Home Jersey | 2018 Away Jersey | 2018 Heritage Jersey | 2018 Indigenous Jersey | 2018 MHF Beanie For Brain Cancer Jersey | 2018 NSW Mining Jersey | 2018 Women In League Jersey |

## Fixtures
### Preseason trials

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Wednesday, 7 February | Trial 1 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 26 – 22 | L.Fitzgibbon, K.Ponga, K.Sio, J.Buhrer, T.Cronan | K.Ponga (2/3), B.Lamb (1/2) | closed to public |
| Saturday, 24 February | Trial 2 | Parramatta Eels | Maitland No.1 Sportsground | 6 – 26 | S.Kenny-Dowall | K.Ponga (1/1) | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 March | 1 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 19-18 | K. Ponga, S. Griffin, L. Fitzgibbon | K. Ponga (3/3), M. Pearce (FG) | 23,516 |
| 18 March | 2 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra | 30-28 | L. Fitzgibbon, A. Guerra, S. Mata'utia, T. Moga, C. Watson | K. Ponga (5/6) | 12,626 |
| 25 March | 3 | Sydney Roosters | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 8-38 | A. Guerra | K. Ponga (2/3) | 15,153 |
| 1 April | 4 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 12-30 | T. Moga, C. Heighington | K. Ponga (2/2) | 18,589 |
| 7 April | 5 | Brisbane Broncos | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 15-10 | L. Fitzgibbon, D. Saifiti | K. Ponga (3/3), M. Pearce (FG) | 21,969 |
| 13 April | 6 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | 14-40 | K. Sio (2), L. Fitzgibbon | K. Ponga (1/3) | 12,386 |
| 21 April | 7 | Wests Tigers | Scully Park, Tamworth | 22-20 | K. Sio (3), S. Kenny-Dowall, M. Pearce | K. Ponga (1/5) | 10,082 |
| 27 April | 8 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Lottoland, Manly | 18-12 | S. Griffin, N. Ross, C. Watson | K. Sio (3/4) | 5,715 |
| 4 May | 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 18-36 | S. Kenny-Dowall (2), S. Mata'utai, L. Fitzgibbon | K. Sio (1/4) | 22,718 |
| 11 May | 10 | Penrith Panthers | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 18-29 | K. Ponga, N. Ross, C. Watson | B. Lamb (2/2), K. Sio (1/1) | 14,801 |
| 19 May | 11 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium, Robina | 26-33 | H. Ese'ese, S. Mata'utia, K. Ponga, K. Sio | B. Lamb (5/5) | 11,008 |
| 27 May | 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 10-48 | L. Fitzgibbon, S. Mata'utia | K. Sio (1/1), K. Ponga (0/1) | 20,913 |
| 2 June | 13 | Parramatta Eels | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 30-4 | J. Cogger, S. Mata'utia, D. Saifiti, K. Sio, C. Watson | K. Ponga (5/6) | 7,719 |
| 9 June | 14 | Sydney Roosters | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 16-18 | S. Mata'utia, K. Ponga | K. Ponga (4/4) | 18,029 |
| 17 June | 15 | Melbourne Storm | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 10-28 | K. Ponga, K. Sio | K. Ponga (1/2) | 14,803 |
| 30 June | 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 16-36 | C. Watson (2), H. Ese'ese | K. Sio (2/3) | 17,755 |
| | 17 | Bye | | | | | |
| 13 July | 18 | Parramatta Eels | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 18-16 | C. Watson, S. Kenny-Dowall, M. Pearce | K. Sio (3/4) | 15,860 |
| 21 July | 19 | Gold Coast Titans | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 30-24 | M. Barnett (2), N. Meaney, L. Fitzgibbon, S. Kenny-Dowall | K. Sio (5/6) | 14,095 |
| 27 July | 20 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville | 18-20 | L. Fitzgibbon (2), A. Guerra | K. Sio (3/4) | 11,709 |
| 3 August | 21 | Wests Tigers | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 16-25 | A. Guerra, S. Mata'utia, K. Ponga | K. Sio (2/3) | 18,561 |
| 10 August | 22 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | 4-20 | K. Sio | K. Sio (0/1) | 14,395 |
| 18 August | 23 | Penrith Panthers | Panthers Stadium, Penrith | | | | |
| 26 August | 24 | Cronulla Sutherland Sharks | Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla | | | | |
| 1 September | 25 | St George Illawarra Dragons | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | | | | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points | Captain | Age |
| Mitchell Barnett | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| Jamie Buhrer | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 29 |
| Jack Cogger | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 |
| Cory Denniss | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 |
| Herman Ese'ese | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| JJ Felise | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Lachlan Fitzgibbon | 21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 24 |
| Slade Griffin | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 27 |
| Aidan Guerra | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 30 |
| Chris Heighington | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 30 |
| Josh King | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Brock Lamb | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Danny Levi | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Jacob Lillyman | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Sione Mata'utia | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 22 |
| Nick Meaney | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 21 |
| Tautau Moga | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| Mitchell Pearce | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 29 |
| Kalyn Ponga | 20 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 78 | 0 | 20 |
| Nathan Ross | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| Daniel Saifiti | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 22 |
| Jacob Saifiti | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Pasami Saulo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Ken Sio | 20 | 12 | 25 | 0 | 98 | 0 | 28 |
| Tom Starling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Sam Stone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Connor Watson | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 22 |
| Luke Yates | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Totals | 24 | 73 | 60 | 2 | 414 | - | Average: 25 |
29 players used.
Source:

## Representative honours

The following players appeared in a representative match in 2018.
Australian Schoolboys
* Timanu Alexander (squad member)
* Bradman Best
* Harry Croker
* Jock Madden
* Starford To'a
Fiji
* Junior Roqica
Junior Kiwis
* Pasami Saulo (squad member)
New South Wales under-16s
* Thomas Cant
New South Wales under-18s
* Bradman Best
* Phoenix Crossland
* Brock Gardner (squad member)
* Jock Madden
* Jaron Purcell
New Zealand
* Herman Ese'ese
* Slade Griffin
* Danny Levi (squad member)
Queensland
* Kalyn Ponga
Queensland under-20s
* Beau Fermor

## Individual honours
### Newcastle Knights awards
#### Player of the Year

* National Rugby League (NRL) Player of the Year: Kalyn Ponga
* Intrust Super Premiership NSW Player of the Year: Luke Yates
* Jersey Flegg Cup Player of the Year: Beau Fermor

#### Players' Player

* National Rugby League (NRL) Players' Player: Kalyn Ponga
* Intrust Super Premiership NSW Players' Player: Luke Yates
* Jersey Flegg Cup Players' Player: Mat Croker

#### Coach's Award

* National Rugby League (NRL) Coach's Award: Aidan Guerra
* Intrust Super Premiership NSW Coach's Award: Zac Hosking
* Jersey Flegg Cup Coach's Award: Kurtis Dark