In the 33-year history of the Newcastle Knights, 312 players have represented the club at the highest level.
BARRY TOOHEY has covered every one of those 33 seasons from the foundation years of the club under inaugural coach Allan McMahon to the present day and witnessed the highs of their two premiership successes and the lows of four wooden spoons and everything in between.
So who have been the Knights greatest players during that period? Leaving aside the current squad, with several of the players having only been at the club for a season or two, Barry has come up with his Top 50 in order. Over the course of this week, we will countdown to the Knights' greatest player with the full list to be revealed on Saturday.
Today, the countdown to number one begins at No. 50.
50. Steve Fulmer
A diminutive halfback from Mudgee who played at the Dragons in Group 10 under ex-Parramatta Eels prop Ron Hilditch before joining the Knights crusade. Was as tough as boot leather and played well above his weight. Debuted off the bench for the club in their inaugural year in 1988 before starting his first game at fullback. Went on to play 64 top grade games in a four year career with 55 of those in the number seven jersey.
49. Matt Hilder
A utility who would put his hand up to play anywhere in the side, Hilder was signed from the Gold Coast Titans for the 2008 season by coach Brian Smith and was in the red and blue at the top level for six seasons and 101 NRL games. A real unsung hero who teammates loved playing with because he had no fear. Was once attacked by a staple gun,coming out second best.
48. Anthony Quinn
A local Valentine junior, Quinn didn't have the physique of the modern day wingers but he knew where the try-line was, notching 47 in his 103 top grade appearances for the Knights between 2002 and 2006. May have finished higher up this list had he not signed with Melbourne and gone on to represent the NSW Blues in Origin from the Storm.
47. Junior Sa'u
Long before Mitchell 'Junior' Pearce, another Junior attracted the odd headline at the club. A Brian Smith recruit following the controversial 2007 cleanout, Junior Sa'u had legs like tree-trunks and during his 86-game five year career at the club, represented New Zealand on nine occasions in Tests. After playing 21 games in 2011, the arrival of Wayne Bennett in 2012 virtually ended his career at the club.
46. Sean Rudder
Rudder was a bench player and light weight second rower when he debuted in 1999 and benefited greatly from the club's decision to squeeze Matty Johns out at the end of 2000 because of salary cap issues. Rudder made the five-eighth spot his own and made a decent fist of it too in their 2001 premiership triumph year although it helped having a pretty fair number 7 inside him at the time.
45. Daniel Abraham
Another local junior out of the Valentine club, Abraham was a skillful backrower who came off the bench in the 2001 grandfinal in just his 15th NRL game. In eight seasons with the Knights, he played 101 top grade games but was dogged by shocking luck with injuries that stalled his career and would have broken most players. Almost 39 now, he has found it hard to retire.
44. Clint Newton
Would have finished higher up the list but for a bitter falling out with Brian Smith in 2007 that saw him quit the club mid-season after featuring in 100 top grade games for the Knights. Went on to play some of his best footy elsewhere, winning a comp with Storm before a four year stint in England and two years at the Panthers. Eventually returned home and led the Knights to a NSW Cup title.
43. Adam Woolnough
Ultra consistent no-frills prop who played 155 games in the NRL over nine seasons, 117 of those with the Knights from 2002 to 2007. The Taree junior was just 19 when he was handed his top grade debut off the bench by coach Michael Hagan against the Warriors.
42. Zeb Taia
Another Brian Smith recruit from the Eels mid-2007, Taia spent six seasons in the Knights backrow, playing 101 games for the club and remarkably, at 35, is still playing top-level footy in the English Super League with St Helens. A gifted forward, Taia played in one Test for New Zealand during his stint at the Knights.
41. Darius Boyd
Boyd followed coach Wayne Bennett to the Knights during the Tinkler era in 2012 and played for Queensland and Australia in each of the three seasons he was in Newcastle. He played 62 games all up for the club and was the Knights player of the year in 2013 before being released from the final year of his contract at the end of 2014 after committing himself into a mental health facility.
- The full list will be revealed this week.
