See here: www.leaguefreak.com/craig-gower- ... -days-4593 As Popeye once said : He can stand so much, he can stand no more. Very sad indeed if true, lets hope it is not. Would explain Bishay's rapid promotion. Thanks Craig for everything, one of the few players to give 100% every week.

See here: www.leaguefreak.com/craig-gower- ... -days-4593 As Popeye once said : He can stand so much, he can stand no more. Very sad indeed if true, lets hope it is not. Would explain Bishay's rapid promotion. Thanks Craig for everything, one of the few players to give 100% every week.

What a real loss to our club! I presume we will never know the real truth why?

Newcastle (NSW) TV station tweet:

Former Panthers, NSW and Australia rugby league player Craig Gower has signed with Newcastle @NRLKnights for the rest of the NRL season.

Newcastle nights fans dont seem to happy about it.

Really hope its only a rumour and he stays till the end of the season, would have thought he would have cherished the losers medal from Wembley so at least stuck around for that.

In reality, would not surprise me in the slightest, its not as if anyone else around him keeps up with the game at at his pace
Cant see him coping with the pace of things in the NRL though

As a fan of both clubs, I'm gutted as a Broncos fan if he does go. He is the lynchpin of the club; I fear even worse times to the end of the season without him (and given the capitulation on Saturday that says something).
As a Knights fan I think Jarrod Mullen is one of the best game managers in the NRL. Not sure what Growler can bring to an already quite old team. If Benny wants him though he must have a good reason.

Not surprising. All his comments last year were directed at the Players in a kick up the ass manner (if you remember, he let RP off the hook entirely).

Either he doesn't think our squad is up to it, or he doesn't think they try hard enough (possible both).

Tony Rea made some comment recently about having players that bought into the London thing. Maybe CG looked at our limited resources, our awful crowds and management of our club and didn't buy into it (who could blame him?).

Guess the final straw would be getting dropped from the Captaincy (must be hard when you are the player that is targetted every week and voted best player by the opposition).

I know he's on good money but somehow, it feels like we didn't deserve him.



Can't see him playing in the NRL though...maybe there's plans for a coaching role (and i guess he would be great to have as a back-up).

If I was Craig and the effort he has put into the club! no way would I Respect many at the club.

Tony Rea's brilliant decision to sack the club's best player from the captaincy no doubt was the straw that broke the camel's back. Rea humiliated Gower. What did he expect the result would be?

That is what you get when you try and mix classy players like Gower with substandard players liek O'Callaghan and second raters and incompetents like Rea and McKay.

Millionaire David Hughes, who hired both Rea and McKay, has thus shown that he is incapable of running a real business.

Gosh..wonder how he made his millions then! Think its more a case of he is incapable of running a sport club

Shocked but not surprised. Newcastle must have made him a mighty fine offer if true.

He made his millions on the financial markets, speculating, as I understand it. Nothing to do with man management and running a business.

I said at the time of his appointment that the reappointment of Rea was a disaster waiting to happen and nothing ive seen since then has changed my opinion.

Given that this comes from League Freak, someone who makes Dave 'Nosey' Parker look a pillar of reliability, I'd wait for the official annoucement. Also, isn't CG contracted to the end of next season which would mean that Newcastle will have to pay compensation?

Dorn and Witt into the halves, Robbo at full back

Let the miserable git sod of back to the coal mines of the Hunter Valley

Please no ~ give Bishay a chance.

From the Knights Web site :

Following a number of media enquiries linking Craig Gower to the Newcastle Knights, the Club can confirm they are in discussions with his management.

It is in all the Australian newspapers.

It is hard to believe that Gower will be getting as much money as second string scrum half for Newcastle as he was getting as star player at London.

Bottom line: Gower has professional standards and cannot stand playing for a hopeless operation like London Broncos.

Perhaps the RFL will shut down the Broncos next year and focus on lifting the Skolars up into Super League.

Skolars in Super League? I just love all this light relief!

As much as I am a fan of Gower, there is a possible silver lining if it means we can go and pick up a decent NRL centre for the remainder of this year and perhaps beyond that.

Like who? Everyone wants decent centres but there aren't any available.

The chances of us signing any Aussies will be all but gone when CG has his say about our club.

This has a depressingly inevitable feel after the captaincy change.

Can't say I blame Gower. Look at the set-up. Look at the coaching. This is not a club moving forwards. Go for one last hurrah on home turf before hanging up your boots. Why end your career with a whimper in front of one man and his dog?

Well, according to one esteemed contributor to these boards, Kevin Naquima (?) is ripe for the picking. Not long ago this Knight was going to be our saviour, now apparently, we are going to be shut down next year. Maybe a swap deal JC ??????

Gower had a fantastic rugby league brain, passing, and kicking skills. Now too slow to catch the opposition line breaks, and to have any real impact near the try line. Can't be replaced but we should be able to great another great set of skills for the money.

If all the below are out of contract Tony Rea should have some money options for next year's team.

1 Luke Dorn
2 Liam Colbon
3 Jamie O'Callaghan
4 David Howell
7 Craig Gower
9 Chad Randall
10 Mark Bryant
12 Chris Bailey
16 Chris Melling
19 Dan Sarginson
20 Matt Cook
25 Alex Hurst

Plenty of other possibilities including:-

-family reasons
-always wanted to play for Newcastle (just a possibility - no inside info)
-wants to end his career at home
-has been offered a coaching role alongside his playing role
-Broncos looking to save wages as current crowds are poor and encouraged him to look elsewhere
-tired of living in London