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2007 Newcastle Knights season

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The 2007 Newcastle Knights season was the 20th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing second-last.

Season summary

2007 was a year of turmoil for the Newcastle Knights club both on and off the field. After making a promising start to the season with victories over contenders such as the Canterbury Bulldogs - the club and rugby league world was rocked by the shock retirement of Andrew Johns. The departure of their captain and most influential player had an obvious effect on the team, and although they managed to stay in touch with the top eight until the last third of the season, their season was irreparably damaged by his absence. In addition to this - the Knights endured the worst injury toll in the 2007 season - fielding thirty seven players in first grade by season's end.

The club also struggled off-field, with Brian Smith's decision to release loyal clubmen such as Clint Newton (who subsequently won a grand final with the Melbourne Storm; which was later stripped due to salary cap breaches), Kirk Reynoldson, and Josh Perry (who subsequently played in Manly's 2008 premiership) meeting with displeasure from the Sydney media and some sections of the Newcastle support base. Newton's defection to Melbourne and Reynoldson's threats of legal action over the club refusing to play him in the fifteen games required to trigger his fourth contract year saw the club's reputation dragged through the mud. The Daily Telegraph campaigned strongly for the sacking of Smith whilst Bluetongue owner John Singleton also threatened legal action after the releases lead to a multi-million dollar advertising campaign being cancelled. To cap it all off, Andrew Johns again made the press late in the season after being arrested for ecstasy possession in the United Kingdom and confessing to having been a drug addict for the entirety of his playing career.

Despite these pressures, the Knights managed to avoid a second wooden spoon in three years - offloading the dreaded piece of 'silverware' to the Penrith Panthers with a last round victory over the Wests Tigers.

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne 24 21 0 3 1 627 277 +350 44
2 Manly-Warringah 24 18 0 6 1 597 377 +220 38
3 North Queensland 24 15 0 9 1 547 618 -71 32
4 Warriors 24 13 1 10 1 593 434 +159 29
5 Parramatta 24 13 0 11 1 573 481 +92 28
6 Bulldogs 24 12 0 12 1 575 528 +47 26
7 South Sydney 24 12 0 12 1 408 399 +9 26
8 Brisbane 24 11 0 13 1 511 476 +35 24
9 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 1 541 561 -20 24
10 Sydney 24 10 1 13 1 445 610 -165 23
11 Cronulla-Sutherland 24 10 0 14 1 463 403 +60 22
12 Gold Coast 24 10 0 14 1 409 559 -150 22
13 St George Illawarra 24 9 0 15 1 431 509 -78 20
14 Canberra 24 9 0 15 1 522 650 -128 20
15 Newcastle 24 9 0 15 1 418 708 -290 20
16 Penrith 24 8 0 16 1 539 607 -68 18

Results

Season 2007 - Draw and Results
Round Date & Time Knights vs Venue Result Scorers Crowd
1 Sun, 18 March
2pm 		Bulldogs EnergyAustralia Stadium Win Knights(25): Terrence Seu Seu, Josh Perry, Todd Polglase, James McManus tries;
Kurt Gidley (4/5) goals;
Kurt Gidley field goal.
Bulldogs(24): Andrew Ryan, Luke Patten, Reni Maitua, Trent Cutler tries;
Hazem El Masri (4/4) goals. 		18,791
2 Fri, 23 March
7:30pm 		Dragons Oki Jubilee Stadium Win Dragons(12): Chase Stanley, Keith Lulia tries;
Wes Naiqama (2/3) goals
Knights(16): Clint Newton, James McManus, Brad Tighe, George Carmont tries;
Kurt Gidley (0/3), Daniel Abraham (0/1) goals 		12,326
3 Mon, 2 April
7pm 		Raiders Canberra Stadium Loss Canberra(48): William Zillman(3), Marshall Chalk, Lincoln Withers, Scott Logan, Colin Best, Phil Graham tries;
Michael Dobson (8/10) goals.
Knights(18): Adam MacDougall, Milton Thaiday, Cory Paterson tries;
Andrew Johns (3/3) goals. 		13,109
4 Sat, 7 April
5:30pm 		Storm Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(12): Steve Simpson, Daniel Abraham tries,
Kurt Gidley (2/2) goals.
Storm(22): Israel Folau(2), Matt King, Anthony Quinn tries,
Cameron Smith (3/4) goals. 		20,051
5 Sun, 15 April
2pm 		Rabbitohs Bluetongue Stadium Win Rabbitohs(22): David Faalogo, Dean Widders, Nigel Vagana, John Sutton tries,
Joe Williams (3/4) goals.
Knights(23): Kurt Gidley(2), James McManus, Brad Tighe tries,
Kurt Gidley (3/4) goals,
Kurt Gidley field goal. 		18,321
6 Sun, 22 April
7pm 		Broncos Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(16): Todd Polglase(2), Adam MacDougall tries,
Kurt Gidley (2/3) goals.
Broncos(20): Darren Lockyer (1/1), Michael Ennis (1/3) goals. 		25,524
7 Mon, 30 April
7pm 		Sharks Energy Australia Stadium Win Knights(20): Kirk Reynoldson(2), Kurt Gidley tries,
Kurt Gidley (4/4) goals.
Sharks(16): David Simmons(2), Ben Pomeroy tries,
Luke Covell (2/3) goals. 		15,453
8 Sun, 6 May
3pm 		Bulldogs Telstra Stadium Loss Bulldogs(30): Luke Patten(2), Reni Maitua, Matthew Utai, Hazem El Masri tries,
Hazem El Masri (5/5) goals.
Knights(16): Cory Paterson, Danny Buderus, James McManus tries,
Kurt Gidley (2/3) goals. 		12,654
9 Sat, 12 May
5:30pm 		Warriors Energy Australia Stadium Win Knights(24): Kurt Gidley(2), Steve Simpson, Adam MacDougall tries,
Kurt Gidley (4/4) goals.
Warriors(18): Ruben Wiki, Nathan Fien, Jerome Ropati tries,
Lance Hohaia (3/3) goals. 		15,107
10 BYE - - - -
11 Sun, 27 May
2pm 		Broncos Suncorp Stadium Loss Broncos(71): Tonie Carroll(2), Brent Tate(2), Justin Hodges(2), Joel Moon, Greg Eastwood, Ben Hannant, Petero Civoniceva, Darius Boyd, Karmichael Hunt tries,
Corey Parker (4/5), Michael Ennis (4/4), Darren Lockyer (3/3),
Darren Lockyer field goal.
Knights(6): Jarrod Mullen try,
Cory Paterson (1/1) goal. 		27,433
12 Sat, 2 June
5:30pm 		Roosters Bluetongue Stadium Win Roosters(18): Mitchell Pierce, Braith Anasta, Anthony Minichiello tries,
Craig Fitzgibbon (3/4) goals.
Knights(22): Brad Tighe, James McManus, Nathan Hinton, Cory Paterson tries,
Cory Paterson (3/4) goals. 		11,263
13 Sun, 10 June
3pm 		Tigers Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(14): Brad Tighe(2), Cory Paterson tries,
Cory Paterson (1/3).
Tigers(33): Liam Fulton, Chris Heighington, Taniela Tuiaki, Dean Collis, Robbie Farah tries,
Dean Collis (6/6) goals,
Robbie Farah field goal. 		13,609
14 Mon, 18 Jun
7pm 		Raiders Energy Australia Stadium Win Knights(22): Adam MacDougall(2), Chris Bailey, Brad Tighe tries,
Kurt Gidley (3/5) goals.
Raiders(18): Brad Cross, Lincoln Withers, Colin Best tries,
Michael Dobson (3/3) goals. 		11,349
15 Sat, 23 June
7:30pm 		Titans Carrara Stadium Loss Titans(28): Matthew Peterson(3), Brett Delaney, Mat Rogers tries,
Mat Rogers (4/5) goals.
Knights(22): Daniel Tolar, Luke Walsh, Adam MacDougall, James McManus tries,
Kurt Gidley (3/4) goals. 		15,306
16 Fri, 29 June
7:30pm 		Rabbitohs Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(25): Adam MacDougall, George Carmont, Cooper Vuna, Cory Paterson, James McManus tries,
Cory Paterson (2/5) goals,
Luke Walsh field goal.
Rabbitohs(28): Roy Asotasi(2), Nigel Vagana, Jeremy Smith, Ben Rogers tries,
Reece Simmonds (2/2), Isaac Luke (2/3) goals. 		16,320
17 Mon, 9 July
7pm 		Eels Parramatta Stadium Win Eels(10): Krisnan Inu, Feleti Mateo tries,
Krisnan Inu (1/1), Mark Riddell (0/1) goals.
Knights(34): George Carmont(2), Steve Simpson, Mitchell Sargent, Adam MacDougall, James McManus tries,
Kurt Gidley (5/7) goals. 		10,363
18 Mon, 16 July
7pm 		Storm Olympic Park Loss Storm(44): Steve Turner(2), Anthony Quinn(2), Billy Slater(2), Ryan Hoffman, Matt King, Clint Newton tries,
Cameron Smith (3/6), Steve Turner (1/3) goals.
Knights(0) 		10,223
19 Sat, 21 July
7:30pm 		Roosters Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(17): Cooper Vuna(2), Adam MacDougall tries,
Kurt Gidley (2/3) goals,
Luke Walsh field goal.
Roosters(20): David Shillington, Joel Monaghan, Lopini Paea, Mitchell Aubusson tries,
Craig Fitzgibbon (2/4) goals. 		15,171
20 Sat, 28 July
7:30pm 		Warriors Mt Smart Stadium Loss Warriors(52): Wade McKinnon(2), Grant Rovelli(2), Jerome Ropati(2), Steve Price, Wairangi Koopu, Manu Vatuvei tries,
Michael Witt (8/9) goals.
Knights(10): James McManus, Kirk Reynoldson tries,
Kurt Gidley (1/2) goals. 		11,301
21 Fri, 3 August
7:30pm 		Dragons Energy Australia Stadium Loss Knights(4): Kurt Gidley try,
Kurt Gidley (0/1) goal.
Dragons(20): Jamie Soward(2), Dan Hunt, Chase Stanley tries,
Jamie Soward (2/4) goals. 		12,573
22 Fri, 10 August
7:30pm 		Sea Eagles Bluetongue Stadium Loss Sea Eagles(50): Brett Stewart(2), Jamie Lyon(2), Jack Afamasaga, Glenn Stewart, Steve Menzies, Matt Orford, Adam Cuthbertson tries,
Matt Orford (2/4), Jamie Lyon (4/4), Steve Menzies (1/1) goals.
Knights(16): Brad Tighe, Steve Simpson, James McManus tries,
Scott Dureau (2/3) goals. 		17,122
23 Sun, 19 August
3pm 		Panthers Energy Australia Stadium Loss Penrith(46): Frank Pritchard(3), Michael Jennings(3), Michael Gordon tries,
Michael Gordon (9/9) goals.
Knights(12): 2 tries,
Kurt Gidley (2/2) goals. 		14,351
24 Fri, 24 August
7:30pm 		Cowboys Energy Australia Stadium Loss Cowboys(34): Ashley Graham(2), Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Bowen, Ty Williams, Neil Sweeney tries,
Thurston (5/6) goals.
Knights(18): Cooper Vuna, Chris Bailey, Cory Paterson tries,
Kurt Gidley (3/3) goals. 		12,264
25 Fri, 31 August
7:30pm 		Tigers Energy Australia Stadium Win Tigers(24): Benji Marshall(2), Chris Lawrence, John Morris tries,
Marshall (4/5) goals.
Knights(26): Cooper Vuna(2), Cory Paterson, Kurt Gidley tries,
Kurt Gidley (5/5) goals. 		13,446

Players

Newcastle Knights 2007 Full-time Squad
Player Position DOB (Age) Height Weight Previous Club
Daniel Abraham Australia Lock/Utility 11/03/1981 (26) 188 cm 106 kg Macquarie United
Chris Bailey Australia Lock/Utility 05/07/1982 (24) 186 cm 94 kg Inverell Hawks
Riley Brown Australia Utility 15/10/1984 (22) 181 cm 92 kg Singleton
Danny Buderus Australia Hooker 06/02/1978 (29) 178 cm 91 kg Taree
George Carmont New Zealand Centre/Wing 30/06/1978 (28) 180 cm 91 kg Otahuhu
Scott Dureau Australia Five Eighth/Halfback 29/07/1986 (20) 174 cm 83 kg Port Macquarie
Paul Franze Australia Centre 03/05/1982 (25) 185 cm 97 kg Castleford Tigers
Kurt Gidley Australia Fullback/Utility 07/06/1982 (24) 182 cm 87 kg Western Suburbs (Newcastle)
Nathan Hinton Australia Fullback 13/10/1985 (21) 178 cm 84 kg Western Suburbs (Newcastle)
Marvin Karawana New Zealand Five Eighth 30/07/1986 (20) 180 cm 94 kg Canterbury Bulldogs
Adam MacDougall Australia Centre 08/05/1975 (31) 183 cm 95 kg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Luke MacDougall Australia Wing/Centre 05/02/1983 (24) 183 cm 95 kg St George Illawarra Dragons
James McManus Scotland Wing/Centre 15/01/1986 (21) 185 cm 89 kg -
Jarrod Mullen Australia Five Eighth/Halfback 09/04/1987 (20) 179 cm 86 kg Western Suburbs (Newcastle)
Cory Paterson Australia Second Row 14/07/1987 (19) 194 cm 105 kg -
Josh Perry Australia Prop 04/02/1981 (26) 187 cm 119 kg Valentine-Eleebana
Todd Polglase Australia Fullback/Wing/Centre 21/03/1981 (26) 178 cm 85 kg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Kirk Reynoldson Australia Second Row/Lock 11/03/1979 (28) 186 cm 102 kg Melbourne Storm
Jesse Royal New Zealand Prop/Second Row 20/05/1980 (26) 190 cm 107 kg Penrith Panthers
Mitchell Sargent Australia Prop 02/07/1979 (27) 187 cm 107 kg North Queensland Cowboys
David Seage Australia Fullback 29/11/1979 (27) 183 cm 90 kg -
Terrence Seu Seu New Zealand Hooker 20/11/1987 (19) 180 cm 89 kg -
Steve Simpson Australia Second Row 27/09/1979 (27) 187 cm 104 kg Singleton
Kade Snowden Australia Prop/Second Row 31/12/1986 (20) 188 cm 113 kg -
Zeb Taia Cook Islands Second Row 11/10/1984 (22) 186 cm 104 kg Parramatta Eels
Reegan Tanner Australia Second Row/Lock 27/09/1982 (24) 183 cm 99 kg Kurri Kurri
Mark Taufua Australia Prop/Second Row 24/10/81 (25) 188 cm 103 kg Waratahs (Newcastle)
Milton Thaiday Australia Fullback 15/02/1980 (27) 175 cm 83 kg -
Brad Tighe Australia Centre/Wing 05/04/1984 (23) 183 cm 89 kg West Tamworth
Daniel Tolar Australia Prop 04/11/1982 (25) 188 cm 100 kg Central Charlestown
Willie Tupou Australia Second Row 26/10/1985 (21) 191 cm 105 kg St George Illawarra Dragons
Akuila Uate Fiji Wing 06/10/1987 (19) 185 cm 94 kg -
Cooper Vuna New Zealand Wing 05/07/1987 (19) 182 cm 97 kg New Zealand Warriors
Luke Walsh Australia Halfback 12/05/1987 (19) - - -
Matthew White Australia Prop 17/05/1984 (22) 190 cm 110 kg -
Adam Woolnough Australia Prop 24/05/1982 (24) 187 cm 109 kg Wingham Tigers
Michael Young Australia Lock/Utility 11/02/1984 (23) 181 cm 90 kg -

References

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