Knights CEO rejects McKinnon exit talk

Gidley also hosed down social media banter that the Knights were chasing Dragons and former NSW and Australian prop Michael Weyman, who played alongside Newcastle quartet Darius Boyd, Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott and Neville Costigan under coach Wayne Bennett in St George Illawarra’s premiership-winning team in 2010.

Insisting that the Knights were not under pressure to stay under the cap this year, Gidley said the club’s priority was to retain off-contract prop prospect Korbin Sims and to shore up the futures of rising stars such as McKinnon, Tyrone Roberts, Dane Gagai and Robbie Rochow.

The Manchester Evening News reported yesterday that Salford City Reds have set their sights on McKinnon, having missed out on Jarrod Mullen and Ryan Stig earlier this year.

Mullen, who is contracted until the end of next year, has been the Knights’ primary playmaker since Andrew Johns retired in 2007. Stig is off contract at the end of this year but he has not played since last April when he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right eye.

‘‘Earlier in the year, ex-Reds boss Phil Veivers sounded out Newcastle duo Ryan Stig and Jarrod Mullen. Now Alex McKinnon, who can play either back row or loose forward, has been earning rave reviews for the Knights, who will consider unloading a player to ease pressure on their finances,’’ the Manchester Evening News reported.

Clearly flabbergasted when that was read to him last night, Gidley told the Newcastle Herald: ‘‘How can you let Alex McKinnon go, or Mullo for that matter? And Stiggy can’t even play at the moment. That’s completely false – there’s no truth to any of that.’’

McKinnon, in the second year of a three-year deal, has played 31 straight NRL games since arriving from the Dragons at the beginning of last season and is one of the first players Bennett picks each week. Not only is the 21-year-old Aberdeen junior contracted until the end of next year, the Knights are keen to start negotiations to upgrade and extend that deal.

‘‘We’re absolutely comfortable with where we sit in relation to the salary cap currently for this year, and we’ll continue negotiations in relation to retaining current players,’’ Gidley said.

The Knights are operating to a $5.15million salary cap this year and that will increase to $5.5m in 2014. Having already re-signed representative wingers Aku Uate (2017) and James McManus (2016) to long-term new deals, the Knights are planning for most of that $350,000 increase to be absorbed by retaining Sims, and for players such as Roberts, Gagai and Rochow to activate bonuses in their incentive-based contracts.

Sims, who has been tempted to join older brothers Ashton and Tariq at the North Queensland Cowboys, is considering the Knights’ offer of a new two-year deal.

‘‘Some of our emerging players that have come in this year, they’ve played a lot of first grade for us and they will be rewarded for that next year,’’ Gidley said.

‘‘They’re all players we’re really pleased to see succeeding, and any upgrades they receive or any incentives that will be achieved are all well deserved because they’ve done a good job for us.’’

Apart from Weyman, the Knights have also been linked in media reports to off-contract Bulldogs and New Zealand Test forward Greg Eastwood.
Gidley said the Knights would always keep tabs on the transfer market, particularly in the lead-up to the June 30 trading deadline, ‘‘but our focus right now is retaining some of the current players we have’’.

‘‘There are some established players at other clubs coming off contract who we will look at in due course, as is the case at every club, but our focus right now is on the players here,’’ he said.

The Herald revealed yesterday that off-contract dual international Timana Tahu is keen to continue playing beyond this season, even if that meant leaving the Knights to join another NRL club, or pursuing overseas opportunities in rugby league or rugby union.

Of the other Knights players poised to become free agents at the end of this year, experienced forwards Neville Costigan and Matt Hilder are not high priorities on the club’s retention list, and outside backs Kevin Naiqama and Peter Mata’utia are considering all options.

Meanwhile, prop Kade Snowden is clear to play against former club Cronulla at Hunter Stadium on Sunday after pleading guilty to a grade-two careless high tackle charge that left Titans centre Luke O’Dwyer with a broken jaw.

Bennett retained the same team that over-powered the Titans 30-6 at Skilled Park last Sunday but included Costigan, returning from a knee injury, on a five-man bench.

CHIEF executive Matt Gidley has rejected speculation the Knights are trying to off-load in-form Country Origin representative Alex McKinnon to an English Super League club before the June 30 transfer deadline to ease salary cap pressure.

Gidley also hosed down social media banter that the Knights were chasing Dragons and former NSW and Australian prop Michael Weyman, who played alongside Newcastle quartet Darius Boyd, Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott and Neville Costigan under coach Wayne Bennett in St George Illawarra’s premiership-winning team in 2010.

Insisting that the Knights were not under pressure to stay under the cap this year, Gidley said the club’s priority was to retain off-contract prop prospect Korbin Sims and to shore up the futures of rising stars such as McKinnon, Tyrone Roberts, Dane Gagai and Robbie Rochow.

The Manchester Evening News reported yesterday that Salford City Reds have set their sights on McKinnon, having missed out on Jarrod Mullen and Ryan Stig earlier this year.

Mullen, who is contracted until the end of next year, has been the Knights’ primary playmaker since Andrew Johns retired in 2007. Stig is off contract at the end of this year but he has not played since last April when he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right eye.

‘‘Earlier in the year, ex-Reds boss Phil Veivers sounded out Newcastle duo Ryan Stig and Jarrod Mullen. Now Alex McKinnon, who can play either back row or loose forward, has been earning rave reviews for the Knights, who will consider unloading a player to ease pressure on their finances,’’ the Manchester Evening News reported.

Clearly flabbergasted when that was read to him last night, Gidley told the Newcastle Herald: ‘‘How can you let Alex McKinnon go, or Mullo for that matter? And Stiggy can’t even play at the moment. That’s completely false – there’s no truth to any of that.’’

McKinnon, in the second year of a three-year deal, has played 31 straight NRL games since arriving from the Dragons at the beginning of last season and is one of the first players Bennett picks each week. Not only is the 21-year-old Aberdeen junior contracted until the end of next year, the Knights are keen to start negotiations to upgrade and extend that deal.

‘‘We’re absolutely comfortable with where we sit in relation to the salary cap currently for this year, and we’ll continue negotiations in relation to retaining current players,’’ Gidley said.

The Knights are operating to a $5.15million salary cap this year and that will increase to $5.5m in 2014. Having already re-signed representative wingers Aku Uate (2017) and James McManus (2016) to long-term new deals, the Knights are planning for most of that $350,000 increase to be absorbed by retaining Sims, and for players such as Roberts, Gagai and Rochow to activate bonuses in their incentive-based contracts.

Sims, who has been tempted to join older brothers Ashton and Tariq at the North Queensland Cowboys, is considering the Knights’ offer of a new two-year deal.

‘‘Some of our emerging players that have come in this year, they’ve played a lot of first grade for us and they will be rewarded for that next year,’’ Gidley said.

‘‘They’re all players we’re really pleased to see succeeding, and any upgrades they receive or any incentives that will be achieved are all well deserved because they’ve done a good job for us.’’

Apart from Weyman, the Knights have also been linked in media reports to off-contract Bulldogs and New Zealand Test forward Greg Eastwood.

Gidley said the Knights would always keep tabs on the transfer market, particularly in the lead-up to the June 30 trading deadline, ‘‘but our focus right now is retaining some of the current players we have’’.

‘‘There are some established players at other clubs coming off contract who we will look at in due course, as is the case at every club, but our focus right now is on the players here,’’ he said.

The Herald revealed yesterday that off-contract dual international Timana Tahu is keen to continue playing beyond this season, even if that meant leaving the Knights to join another NRL club, or pursuing overseas opportunities in rugby league or rugby union.

Of the other Knights players poised to become free agents at the end of this year, experienced forwards Neville Costigan and Matt Hilder are not high priorities on the club’s retention list, and outside backs Kevin Naiqama and Peter Mata’utia are considering all options.

Meanwhile, prop Kade Snowden is clear to play against former club Cronulla at Hunter Stadium on Sunday after pleading guilty to a grade-two careless high tackle charge that left Titans centre Luke O’Dwyer with a broken jaw.

Bennett retained the same team that over-powered the Titans 30-6 at Skilled Park last Sunday but included Costigan, returning from a knee injury, on a five-man bench.