In the chaotic world of contracts and player movement, it’s easy to lose track of where players end up.
That's why, newcastleknights.com.au have done some digging and tracked the movements of a bunch of former nib Newcastle Knights, in order to check in on where their careers have taken them after they moved on from the Club.
Ken Sio
Two years ago, Ken Sio was one of the Knights most prolific try scorers.
Now he is plying his trade in the English Super League for Salford, alongside ex-NRL colleagues Jackson Hastings, Robert Lui and Krisnan Inu.
He scored 13 tries in his 22 appearances for the side in their magical run to the Grand Final, where they lost 23-6 to St Helens.
Brock Lamb
An Australian Schoolboys rep, Brock Lamb was a mainstay for the Knights from 2016-2018.
With Mitchell Pearce having a monopoly on the No.7 jumper and a wealth of competition for the five-eighth role, Lamb transferred to the Sydney Roosters in 2019 as an understudy to Cooper Cronk.
Lamb managed just one game for the Roosters, ironically against the Knights, before a lack of opportunity again saw him on the move, this time mid-season to Super League with the London Broncos.
Lamb played six games for the London side before they were relegated, seeing him return to Australia where he eventually signed a two-year deal with Parramatta.
Shaun Kenny-Dowell
After spending 10 seasons at the Sydney Roosters, Kenny-Dowell signed with Newcastle and finished his NRL career with three seasons at the Knights.
While his NRL career is over, the man known as ‘SKD’ has continued his career at Super League club Hull Kingston Rovers.
Trent Hodkinson
Arriving in Newcastle in 2016, Hodkinson was made captain of the Club and lead the team through its most difficult years, winning just 5 of his 40 appearances in red and blue.
Moving on in 2018 after the Knights completed the transfer of Mitchell Pearce, Hodkinson landed at Cronulla where he managed four appearances before returning to Manly mid-season, where he made his debut.
Hodkinson spent the next 18 months at the Sea Eagles, playing 14 games before calling time on his career in October 2019.
Jack Cogger
A young half, Cogger left the Knights at the end of 2018 to chase regular game-time at Canterbury.
Injuries to first choice halves Kieran Foran and Lachlan Lewis saw Cogger play 17 games in blue and white, scoring three tries.
Brendan Elliot
Arriving at the Knights in a search for regular game time in 2016, Elliot managed 23 appearances in his two seasons at the Club, scoring 10 tries.
Elliot returned to his home city on the Gold Coast in 2018, however he managed just three games before transferring mid-season to English Championship Club Leigh.
Elliot returned to Australia in 2019 to link with Manly, where he played a major role filling in for Tom Trbojevic in the Club’s surprise run to the finals.
Luke Yates
A local junior, Yates featured heavily in the Knights 2017 campaign before dropping back to just six games in 2018.
After being told he wouldn’t be re-signed by the Club, Yates ventured to Super League where he found a home with the London Broncos for the 2019 season.
However, his 28 appearances and two tries weren’t enough to save the Broncos from relegation, seeing him secure a move to Salford for the 2020 season.
Sam Stone
A Lakes United product, Stone burst onto the scene in 2017, cementing a spot on the Knights bench.
Unfortunately for the young talent, he quickly slid down the pecking order and only made 2 appearances the following season.
After again struggling for opportunities in 2019, Stone secured a mid-year switch to the Gold Coast, making eight appearances in the first half of his 18-month contract.
Joe Wardle
A Scottish international, Wardle was brought to the Club by then-Coach Nathan Brown, whom he had a relationship with from their time at Huddersfield in the early 2010s.
The centre/back-rower only lasted one season at the Knights in 2017 before heading back to Super League, joining Castleford Tigers for one season.
Wardle then transferred back to Huddersfield in 2019, where he’d spent six seasons at before testing the NRL. He remains under contract for the Giants in 2020.
Jack Stockwell
Arriving in Newcastle after a three-year stint at the Dragons, Stockwell settled in as a first grader at the Knights from 2016-2018.
However, a lack of consistent opportunities saw the now 27-year-old to look north for more opportunities, signing with the Gold Coast in 2018.
After an impressive first season which yielded a one-year extension, Stockwell has since found a home playing for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup competition.
