Frizell determined to lead charge in Knights turnaround

Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell said senior players at the club have hurt the most after their underwhelming 2022 campaign and hopes a full pre-season together can turn results around next year.

Frizell will be among the next group of Knights players to return to training within the next week after he endured one of his worst seasons on record with just five wins.

The 31-year-old took out the club’s player of the year award but their finishing on the ladder overall has not sat well with Frizell or the likes of club leaders David Klemmer, Kalyn Ponga and the Saifiti brothers.

All five knocked back the offer to play for nations at the World Cup in a bid to ensure they hit the ground running for Adam O’Brien when the full squad gets back together this month.

“There’s a lot of us older guys who are pretty disappointed with how this year turned out and we really need a big pre-season,” Frizell told NRL.com at the NRL's historic Westpac announcement last week. 

“After a tough year we want to get stuck into it and give ourselves every opportunity to do well next year.

“We’ve almost got the whole squad that will be there for the start together. The more time we can have under our belt the better we’ll be.”

In a positive sight, Ponga joined the first group back for training last week, a fortnight ahead of schedule, as he looks to make his way back to the game after sitting out the final months of the season due to repeated head knocks.

Only Knights winger Dom Young, who is starring for England at the World Cup, will return to pre-season training in the new year.     

Frizell raved about Young’s rise to stardom since taking a leap of faith to move from the UK to Australia in 2021 as a teenage giant.

“I didn’t know too much of him before he arrived to the Knights, he was quiet and shy but has come in leaps and bounds in 12 months,” Frizell said.

“He deserves his call-up to the England side. He had a great year for the Knights and is now showcasing that on the world stage. Hopefully we can keep him long-term.”

Frizell added the Knights’ NRL squad want to continue the momentum the women’s side had created in 2022 after taking out the NRLW title in October.

“It’s great to see there’s a winning culture within the club and we’d like to continue that now and kickstart it with our pre-season,” he said.

“They turned up on short notice, had a quick pre-season and got a premiership. It was great to watch, not only for all of us at the club but the whole town.

“They had a great turnout and attention around them, especially when they won.”

The Westpac agreement will see a dollar-for-dollar investment into the NRL and NRLW equally in a first for the code.

“Seeing the women’s game grow and where the money is going to grassroots and programs like the RISE academy is great for everyone involved in rugby league,” Frizell said.

“This is another pathway for players to get into the NRLW and is an exciting one for the fans.”