Both the Sydney Morning Herald and News Limited are reporting that Wayne Bennett will be coaching the St George/Illawarra Dragons in 2015 with a deal expected to be worth $3 million over three years. A mystery private backer is set to give the cash strapped Dragons the ability to pay Bennett (Because that worked so…
Now that Nathan Tinkler has given up control of the Newcastle Knights Wayne Bennett is effectively allowed to leave the club under the terms of the contract he signed. When Bennett joined the Knights, his contract was with Hunter Sports Group, not the Newcastle Knights themselves. The deal stated that if Tinkler left as owner…
News Limited is reporting that a phone owned by Newcastle Knights owner Nathan Tinkler was used to send abusive text messages to players, many of whom were not being paid by the club. Tinkler, who will not be owner of the Newcastle Knights for much longer, is fast becoming one of the most hated people…
Coach Wayne Bennett and fullback Darius Boyd are among those at the Newcastle Knights who have not been paid thanks to Nathan Tinkler and his Hunter Sports Group. A lot of people have been critical of Boyd’s form this season, but if he isn’t being paid, I can completely understand why he would have better…
Cast your mind back to the early days of Nathan Tinkler’s interest in the Newcastle Knights. You couldn’t go a couple of days without some former Newcastle Knights player saying what an amazing opportunity it was for the club to sell the farm to Tinkler and his Hunter Sports Group. Tinkler played his purchase of…
The following is an official statement from the National Rugby League: The NRL said it would take whatever action is necessary to protect the players and staff of the Newcastle Knights whose wages had not been paid today. The NRL learned today that Newcastle Knights, controlled by Nathan Tinkler’s business group, had failed to pay…
Angry Newcastle Knights fans have started an online petition calling for the removal of multi time premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett in the wake of their record loss to the Panthers. Surely no one saw this coming, and although only supported by a small percentage of fans, the fact a petition to remove Bennett exists…
News Limited is reporting that members of the Newcastle Knights board are concerned that club owner Nathan Tinkler will not come up with a promised $10.3 million bank deposit by March 31st. News.com.au is reporting that Newcastle Knights Chairman Nick Dan sought a meeting with Hunter Sports Group this week only to find himself being…
It is news that didn’t make any headlines at all but that should really be of concern to all Newcastle Knights supporters. According to the News Limited, Newcastle Knights were not paid on time this month. While players have since been paid, my experinece is that when you hear about these delays in players payments,…
The National Rugby League Integrity Unit has cleared Newcastle Knights owner Nathan Tinkler of any wrong doing in regards to a bet he placed on the Newcastle Knights in 2011. Tinkler placed the bet just a few days after assuming control of the Knights and soon after reported the best to the NRL and to…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Newcastle Knights owner Nathan Tinkler is being investigated by the NRL Integrity Unit for allegedly betting on NRL fixtures. The NRL has very strict rules that prohibit players and officials from betting on Rugby League. The news comes on the back of a report on the ABC’s Four Corners…
It is very rare that a terrible coach can manage to win a Premiership. It does happen from time to time (Hello Michael Hagan) but for the most part, the best coaches normally share the spoils. With the NRL salary cap strictly policed and teams not recruiting youngsters from all over the place, the biggest…
The financial problems facing Newcastle Knights owner Nathan Tinkler have come back to hit both the Newcastle Knights and Newcastle Jets, with the Australian Tax Office moving to have both clubs wound up. The Sydney Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Hunter Sports Group, which owns the Knights and the Jets, Newcastle’s A League soccer club, have…
When the season kicks off, everyone feels like they have a chance of winning the NRL Grand Final. Soon after though, reality starts to set in and teams that started off with high expectations find themselves on the wrong end of too many scoreboards. So who were the most disappointing teams in season 2012? Obviously the level…
Nathan Tinkler formed Hunter Sports Group with the long term goal, according to him, of building a sporting legacy for the Newcastle and greater Hunter region. His first move came 18 months ago when he purchased the Newcastle Jets Soccer club and saved them from folding. Last year though, he claimed his biggest prize when…
In Newcastle, its not about what you know, its about who you know. The Newcastle Knights have been run for a very long time on the basis of just keeping everyone happy. Forget professionalism, forget winning, forget accountability….none of that matters. Just as long as everyone iust having a good time and they can all…
If you read this web site on a regular basis, you know what I think about the state of the Newcastle Knights. They are a glorified pub team. The place is run for the enjoyment of the players and who cares about things like professionalism or accountability. In steps Nathan Tinkler, who is very rich,…
I’ve written many times before about the shambles that is the Newcastle Knights, club whom it seems only exists for the enjoyment of the playing roster. We’ve seen in the past player revolts because certain players have not been retained. Its amazing to think that only a few years ago the playing roster went berserk…