First Knight: Gidley Eyes No.1 Jersey
Sun Herald
Sunday February 3, 2008
NEWCASTLE Knights matchwinner Kurt Gidley hopes his days as a back-line nomad are over.
After finding a home last season at fullback - a move that helped him graduate to NSW Origin and Test honours - the 25-year-old wants to play there on a permanent basis.But Knights coach Brian Smith has outlined plans for Gidley to spend time in the halves during Newcastle's pre-season trials against the Warriors and Cronulla.Smith is still unsure about who will partner youngster Jarrod Mullen this season. Luke Walsh, Chris Bailey and Scott Dureau are the main contenders, but Gidley also has plenty of experience at No.6 or 7.By deploying Gidley in the halves, Smith will have a chance to assess new signing Wes Naiqama at fullback, and if the former St George Illawarra star makes an impact then Smith may be forced to reassess his back-line personnel."I've been training a little bit in the halves, but mainly at fullback," Gidley said. "It sounds like I'm going to have a bit of a run in the halves in our trials, which happens most years anyway. But I think having a full year at fullback really suited me down to the ground. I had my best year playing there, so I'd probably prefer to play fullback."Meanwhile, Newcastle's big men are set to stage a heavyweight battle during the trials for the privilege of packing down alongside recruit Ben Cross in the season-opener against Canberra.Cross will miss both trials because of suspension, and his likely starting partner, Mitchell Sargent, is recovering from pneumonia.That leaves Jesse Royal, Mark Taufua, Dan Tolar, Michael White and new signings Chris Houston, Richard Fa'aoso and Danny Wicks under Smith's microscope.Smith indicated Royal probably had his nose slightly in front of Wicks. "Jesse's probably been the pick of them so far in training, and at this stage I'd be leaning towards him," Smith said. "But there's a while to go and it's a pretty hot field."
© 2008 Sun Herald