KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien expects the club to kick start contract talks with captain Mitchell Pearce in the coming weeks and envisages latest recruit Jake Clifford will "complement" Newcastle's current No.7 in the halves down the track.
O'Brien said he "absolutely" wants Pearce, whose four-year deal at the club ends in 2021, to extend his stay beyond next season when fellow playmaker Clifford is touted to arrive.
The mentor, about to embark on his second campaign in charge at the Knights, said "depth in positions" was one of the main lessons he took from a tough introduction to the head-coach role in 2020.
HONOUR:The Chief's Legends Room a nod to region's rugby league history
"The club plans to sit down with Mitchell [Pearce] over the next few weeks to start the talks around extending his contract out," O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"Absolutely [I want to have him around]. I know the news around Jake Clifford today, but that doesn't bear any impact on Mitchell.
"It's someone to come in and potentially complement Mitchell in that halves pairing.
"I know we've got young guys like Phoenix [Crossland], Kurt Mann and Tex Hoy, but the one thing I've come to realise this year is you need depth in positions.
"And depth in positions creates competition which creates growth."
Speculation around Pearce's future at Newcastle circulated last month, but those rumours were denied by O'Brien, Knights boss Phil Gardner and the player himself.
Clifford is set to join the Knights on a two-year contract from 2022, but the signing has yet to be officially announced. The Cairns product still has one season left to run on his current deal at the North Queensland Cowboys and may be released early.
RELATED:Knights boss confident of fielding NRLW team in Newcastle by 2023
Multiple season-ending injuries hurt O'Brien throughout 2020. Coupled with retirements and departures, several new faces have since been revealed to help provide adequate cover.
The Knights have recently picked up the services of Jack Johns (South Sydney), Bailey Hodgson (Castleford), Sauaso Sue (Canterbury) and Dominic Young (Huddersfield). Tyson Frizell (Dragons) was sealed a while back.
Josh King re-signed last week. NRL veteran Blake Green, who is recovering along with Connor Watson and Jayden Brailey after being sidelined for long periods this year, also put pen to paper earlier this month.
Sione Mata'utia (St Helens), Tautau Moga (South Sydney), Andrew McCullough (Brisbane) and Herman Ese'ese (Gold Coast) have all left while Aidan Guerra and Tim Glasby both hung up the boots.
"A real good mixture of experience coming in with Tyson and Jesse Sue ... having lost Tim and Aidan," O'Brien said.
"Josh was a really good signing in terms of his work ethic and a symbol of what it means to be a local guy and train hard.
"Jack Johns coming on board, again another local, gives us a bit of depth in a number of positions.
"And then we have two exciting young English imports in Bailey and Dominic. Really happy they've decided to start their journey to senior football over here with us."
Pre-season training starts on Thursday.
However, a second wave of players return next month while the last of the squad gets back in January.
IN THE NEWS:
- Third person charged in the murder case of New Zealand pilot Ian Pullen's roadside death pilot
- First Melbourne flight touches down at Newcastle Airport after border restrictions ease
- Jarryd Hayne pleads not guilty to two counts of rape at outset of Newcastle trial
- Restrictions to ease in NSW, putting Christmas carols back on the agenda
