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Reluctant megastar, double Dragons coup: How Newcastle Knights grand final team was built
The Newcastle Knights’ 2026 Grand Final team was built from all corners of the rugby league world. There were local juniors, established stars brought to the club and players who arrived with something to prove.
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The most important signing in the club’s history, Ponga found himself convinced to join the Knights after a range of different things. Not only did then-Knights coach and former football manager Darren Mooney - now with the Sharks - travel to Townsville to pitch him the club’s long-term vision but they also flew him and his family to Newcastle to convince him to join.
While he was initially reluctant to move away from the North Queensland Cowboys, he ended up signing with the club on a lucrative four-year contract.
“When Dad put down the Knights contract in front of me, I just looked at where they were then. They were at the bottom of the ladder. That’s all I really saw. ”After two incredible seasons for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, Young decided to make the move to the NRL and sign a three-year contract with the Knights ahead of the 2021 season.
“I didn’t have a contact number for him and I didn’t know his manager. I remember initially I approached him through Twitter.
“One thing I liked about him in watching his videos was that in one game, someone gave it to him and he was aggressive back towards them. ”this week that the Melbourne Storm had also shown a keen interest in his services before he moved to the NRL. Originally with the Knights for six seasons during his first stint with the club, Gagai returned to his old stomping ground in 2022.
With the South Sydney Rabbitohs before rejoining the club, the veteran was tabled a one-year extension by the Rabbitohs but opted not to take it. Subsequently, he linked back up with the Knights on a three-year deal and is looking for a fairytale finish to his time at the club before joining the Brisbane Broncos for the 2027 season.
The son of former Sea Eagles back-rower Roger Best, Bradman was one of the best players in his age group and went on to represent the Under-16s and Under-18s NSW Blues sides before making the Australian Schoolboys team in 2018. Invited to train with Newcastle’s first grade squad at the age of 17, he was originally signed by the club two years earlier by Troy Pezet.
Handed his NRL debut from Justin Holbrook at the Gold Coast Titans, Marzhew eventually found himself in Newcastle as part of a swap deal involving Chris Randall. An injury to Sam Verrills had the Titans looking for depth in the dummy-half role, so it was a win-win for all parties involved.
“Then Sam Verills at the time broke his collarbone, so they needed a hooker and they got Chris Randall and I got to come here. Born in Maitland, Sharpe attended All Saints College and played for the Cessnock Goannas which put him on a collision course with the Newcastle Knights.
His time with Cessnock saw him catch the attention of junior recruitment officer Alex McKinnon who brought him in as a halfback to play in the Under-17s Harold Matthews Cup competition. Since then, he has been used in a variety of roles including on the wing and at fullback, but he will line-up in the halves for this year’s grand final.
Although he rose through the ranks of the Central Coast Roosters pathways system, Smith could have easily found himself at the Knights much sooner than expected. One of the most talented playmakers for his age, the Knights decided to sign Jonah Pezet at the time which meant Smith moved to the Roosters where he came through their ranks and made 46 appearances for them.
However, the arrival of Daly Cherry-Evans and emergence of Hugo Savala saw him pushed down the pecking order and he decided to look elsewhere for a new opportunity. A veteran of the side, Frizell spent ten seasons and 177 matches with the Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons before finding himself joining the Knights ahead of the 2021 season.
Already a NSW Blues and Australian international before he arrived in Newcastle, he was recruited to bring star power and experience to the back-row - an area the club lacked at that point in time.
“It was a blue-collar meeting. He just wanted a meeting at the club. We looked at some stats and vision of his game.
“I presented some stats to him with areas we liked and some stuff we could do for him. He liked that it wasn’t just about patting him on the back.
“The focus was around some defensive stuff. The people we could put around him and help him. How we could use him in more areas in attack. The first Dolphins signing in the club’s history, Graham only lasted two seasons at the club before he was looking for a new opportunity.
Failing to secure a Top 30 contract with another club, the livewire dummy-half was offered a developmental contract by Peter O’Sullivan to join the Knights. Yet to hit the prime of his career, there is no doubting the Under-19s Queensland Maroons representative will have a long and successful tenure in the NRL, he just failed to regular game time beforehand.
Signed by Alex McKinnon at the age of 15, Hopwood has had a remarkable past couple of seasons which saw him make his debut and play for the Australian Schoolboys last year to starting in the 2026 NRL Grand Final. One of the best young forward, his development was accelerated after showing his maturity in NSW Cup and has taken his opportunity with both hands.
All Saints Maitland forward Cody Hopwood in action for the schools' senior rugby league side in 2023 Peter Mulholland Cup. Regarded as the next crop of young stars coming through the ranks at the Penrith Panthers, McEwen opted to leave the club for a change of scenery.
Contracted until the end of 2028, the back-rower has taken his game to new heights this season and will look to end 2026 with a premiership ring and international minutes for Samoa during the World Cup. Before arriving at the Knights, Manuleleua was another product to come through the Penrith Panthers system having joined the club to learn off superstar halfback Nathan Cleary.
Before then, he was a member of the New Zealand Warriors and was also a talented rugby union player which saw him attend the famed King’s College in Auckland.foxsports.com.au.
“He kind of knew Francis and what kind of player he was as a young kid. He knew he was a half and what kinds of skills he had and where he would fit in the club and what he needed to do. ”An unheralded member of the Knights side, Croker has emerged as a leader this year after cementing a regular spot in the forward pack.
Debuting in the NRL in 2021, the 27-year-old has been with the club since 2015 when he was signed at the age of 15 by Troy Pezet. Since then, he has progressed through every level of the Knights side and even earned representative honours as a junior for the Under-16s and Under-18s NSW Blues teams.
Debuting in Round 18 of the 2026 NRL season, Crouch returned to the Knights ahead of the year after being a part of the Cronulla Sharks system for the past four years. While he never played a single first grade match for them, the 23-year-old was a regular for the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup competition and their Under-21s Jersey Flegg side.
Surprisingly, Crouch is an East Maitland Griffins junior and got his first start with the Knights by coming through their junior ranks. A Newcastle Knights junior, for whom he made his debut for in 2018, Saulo decided to return to the club ahead of this season after a three-year stint with the Canberra Raiders. Returning to the Hunter-region to bolster the club’s middle forward rotation, he has provided a wealth of experience to the next generation coming through the ranks.
Starting out in the St George Illawarra Dragons pathways system as part of the Illawarra Steelers junior program, Lucas eventually departed the club a few weeks after finishing high school. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he signed with the Knights to play under Scott Dureau in the Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup and hasn’t looked back.
“I was down there in the Steelers for my junior reps and then just got an opportunity to move up to Newcastle and have a crack there to get out of my comfort zone. I’m glad I did that now,”“I’m in debt to that club . They gave me my opportunity and to be able to repay that now by sticking around for a little while and trying to build something special there.
”Scouted as a teenage, Hunt was born and raised in Warren, New South Wales and spent some time with the Western Rams before finding himself on the fast-track through the Knights pathways system. In an interview last year, Hunt revealed he was so homesick when he first arrived in Newcastle that he couldn’t bring himself to attend his own high school formal.
“I couldn’t even go back for my formal because I knew if I went back home, I wouldn’t have come back to Newcastle. “But luckily at the time I didn’t have a car, so mum and dad didn’t have to worry about me just packing up and driving home. “I think I always knew if I wanted to play footy, moving away was the sacrifice I’d have to make.
In the back of my head I knew it was the right decision to move away from home. Another homegrown Novocastrian in the side’s 19-man squad, Cant began his rugby league career for the East Maitland Griffins before entering the Knights pathways system as a young teenager. Since that moment, he has worked through the ranks and even found himself captaining the Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup side before making his NRL debut in 2023.
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