NRL Rookie Watch: Which Knights are worth keeping an eye on in 2023?

With the 2023 NRL season nearing, we list the crop of rookies from each club worth keeping tabs on as they aim to join the elite list of budding stars with a Rookie of the Year award to their name.

As per the NRL, “players are eligible for the Rookie of the Year in their debut season and the subsequent two NRL seasons … Once a player plays five (5) NRL Premiership matches (or English Super League matches), he becomes ineligible for the Rookie of the Year in any subsequent seasons”.

Krystian Mapapalangi

Mapapalangi split his time between Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup last season before earning a pair of NRL caps at the end of the season. He laid on a try on debut to go along with five tackle breaks from nine carries before backing up his efforts with 172 metres from 20 carries the following week. Developing as a centre, his ball skills and instincts have benefitted from spending time in the halves as a junior. Bradman Best and Dane Gagai are set to start the year in the centres for head coach Adam O’Brien, however, Mapapalangi will be putting his best foot forward in an attempt to establish himself as the side’s primary depth option ahead of the likes of fellow outside backs Enari Tuala, Hymel Hunt, and Simi Sasagi. The 20-year-old gave a strong account of himself last season and has the makings of a long-term contributor up in Newcastle.

Bailey Hodgson

The nephew of Eels rake Josh, Hodgson made his Super League debut and NSW Cup both before his 19th birthday. Injuries put a line through much of his 2022 campaign, however, the young Englishman looks poised to make a leap this season and push towards a seemingly inevitable NRL debut. The decision to shift Kalyn Ponga from the back into the halves shakes up the Knights’ fullback situation as they head into a make-or-break season. New recruit Lachlan Miller is expected to win the fullback jumper to start the season whilst O’Brien revealed that Dane Gagai and Tyson Gamble – along with Hodgson – have also spent time training at the back throughout the club’s preseason. Listed at just 85 kg, Hodgson’s zippiness and playmaking nous should be enough for the Knights’ coaching staff to pencil him in as their second-choice fullback.

Oryn Keeley

A highly-touted Central Coast prospect, Keeley started at second row for the under-19s Blues last year before making his NRL debut against the Raiders in Round 23 – the same game as Mapapalangi. He played 10 Jersey Flegg games for a Newcastle side that fell one point short of the title as well as a pair of NSW Cup games. A hard-headed edge forward, Keeley will hope to add more NRL games to his tally in 2023 and will like his chances following the departures of David Klemmer, Mitch Barnett, Pasami Saulo, Sauaso Sue and Jirah Momoisea. Having just turned 20, Keeley has a number of admirers at the Knights and will look to prove himself as a building block with the club entering a decisive period.

Tevita Toloi

Another key member of Newcastle’s runners up Jersey Flegg side last year, Toloi capped off a strong year with an international debut off the bench for Fiji Bati in their 30-14 win over Scotland the World Cup. The soon-to-be 21-year-old made the leap from Jersey Flegg to NSW Cup for a game last year and will look to become a more permanent fixture in the side this year. An athletic edge forward, Toloi will look to take advantage of Newcastle’s depleted back-row stocks and earn an NRL jumper. Currently on a development deal, Toloi will also be eyeing a promotion into Newcastle’s top 30 for next season and beyond.

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