The Newcastle Knights have a selection headache on their hands in 2024 with three quality halves vying for the two spots in the starting side.
Incumbent halves Jackson Hastings and Tyson Gamble led Newcastle to a historic finals run last year but the addition of Grand Final winner Jack Cogger throws a massive spanner in the works.
Although Gamble was only given the starting spot after Kalyn Ponga returned to fullback, his infectious effort on both sides of the ball makes him a tough player to leave out.
Hastings looks set to retain his No.7 jumper but with Cogger now in the mix, SEN’s Matty Johns believes Gamble may be forced to make way from the starting side and could used off the bench.
“They signed young Cogger, he should be there,” Johns told SEN 1170 The Run Home.
“He was the unsung hero of the Grand Final I thought, when he came on the field he was one of the main reasons they (Penrith) ran them (Brisbane) down, he sort of freed Nathan up to pick and choose what he wanted to do.
“It’s an interesting one, I reckon it’ll be Hastings and it wouldn’t surprise me if Gamble comes off (the bench) in a 14 role, something like that.
“The Hastings, Gamble (combination) last year, working with Kalyn worked a treat, so there’s a little bit of depth there, it’ll be interesting what they do, Gamble could also play a little bit of 13 I suppose.”
SEN’s Bryan Fletcher suggested that one of Hastings or Gamble would depart the club during this season due to Cogger’s emergence, something that Johns admitted he could see happening.
“I agree (that one player will leave), there was a little bit of talk of Jackson Hastings (that) Shane Flanagan was interested in him,” Johns added.
“As they say, seems like a perfect fit.”
Gamble is out of contract at the end of the year and is free to negotiate with rival clubs, whilst Hastings and Cogger are signed on until the end of 2025 and 2026 respectively.