Yet to receive a formal offer from his current club, off-contract Knights back-rower Robbie Rochow has declared he wants to remain in Newcastle beyond the 2016 season despite fielding offers elsewhere.
Primarily linked to the Eels, the East Maitland Griffins junior wants to remain "home" and help guide the Knights out of their worst season in the club's history.
Arm and back grievances have restricted Rochow to just 11 NRL games in the past two seasons so far but the forward denied his injury woes have delayed his decision on his playing future.
"I don't think it's about the number of games I played. It's about receiving an offer from the club and making a decision from there. I can't make a decision until that happens," Rochow said on Monday.
"[I want to stay] for sure, it's my home here and I don't want to leave so hopefully it will all work out. I want to be proud to put on the jumper, and while it's tough times now, I want to be a part of this team which can hopefully build to be competitive."
The Knights have managed just one win and one draw this season, and are staring down the barrel of their 10th straight loss but Rochow said his side's poor form won't factor into his contractual decision.
Rochow, a member of the Knights' now five-man leadership group in light of Tariq Sims's departure, said improvement is key for his largely inexperienced squad.
At 25, Rochow was the fifth-oldest member of the Knights' 17 which went down by 10 points to the Dragons last Saturday.
"I don't tend to look at the ladder or the wins or losses. You obviously play to win and that's why you play the game, but it comes down to the way we do it," Rochow said.
"If we can improve on our performances and see improvement in some of our players, then losing all the time won't affect my mindset.
"If we're playing hard every week and improving then that's where I want to be. It's not about winning every week rather being proud of what we're doing on the park."
The Dragons loss was Rochow's first game since Round 5 and he hailed his team to fix the way they start their games ahead of their clash in Canberra on Sunday afternoon.
Rochow's input against the Dragons proved fruitful and said it was nice to hand down some advice to his younger teammates in a playing capacity.
"It's hard to criticise when you're not playing," he said. "Now that I'm back, I can contribute and I can offer some positive feedback to players and where they can be better based on how I'm performing as well."
