Jack Stockwell signed with the Newcastle Knights on Friday after being released from the St George Illawarra Dragons, moved to Newcastle on Sunday and commenced pre-season training on Monday morning.
Fair to say it has been a life-changing couple of days for the 22-year-old prop, but it is a move he is pleased to have made after an honest chat with Dragons' coach Paul McGregor.
“I had some talks with Mary (McGregor), and they were looking to go in a different direction,” Stockwell admitted to the media on Monday.
“It is footy, you can either dwell on it or move on, and that is what I am doing, moving on and I have a fresh start here at Newcastle.
“I had my eye on Newcastle from the start, so I am happy to be here.
“I have good mates up here and that was a big draw card knowing some of the players.”
One of those mates is Alex McKinnon, who is currently on the Gold Coast continuing his treatment.
“I didn’t talk to Alex (when making the decision) but when I signed the contract he was the first person I told,” Stockwell said.
“When he gets back from the Gold Coast, we will have a lot of catching up to do.
“We went to school together and played a few years there together, then we played Harold Matts at Illawarra all the way through until he debuted in NRL.”
As for day one at the Knights, Stockwell performed strongly in the beep test, finishing in the top three of his group.
“I didn’t know how it would go…but I went better than I thought,” he humbly admits.
