Rolling through a seemingly never-ending list of struggles in Newcastle has been a group of #KiwiNRL lads, a group which is getting smaller by the year. While the Knights have bid farewell to an OG like Jeremy Smith, they have a trio of youngsters who have their best years ahead of them and their situation reflects that of their club.

Danny Levi is the star act at the Knights as the young dummy half out of Wellington has been on the fringes of consistent NRL footy for a few years without breaking through just yet. Knights coach Nathan Brown has talked Levi up as being a smokey for the Kiwis' World Cup squad and Levi's similarities to Issac Luke are fairly obvious; he's small but powerful (like our other young dummy half guns such as Brandon Smith).

The injury to new recruit Rory Kostjasyn is low key good news for Levi - and David Bhana - as it clears some of the Knights depth at hooker. Hopefully Levi is given a starting spot, although there is a lot of competition coming from youngsters like Tyler Randell and Dylan Phythian. Levi has served his apprenticeship and the way coach Brown has talked about him, I'll be looking for Levi to enjoy a strong season with the Knights.

Middle forward David Bhana was everything that NZ Warriors folk wanted in a forward as he offers more hard graft than power or sublime. The Warriors didn't want Bhana though and he was snapped up by Newcastle ahead of last season and spent the year plugging holes where he could. Bhana is effectively a clone of Smith and there's every chance that the Knights could give Bhana decent minutes at lock, it's just that the tackle-machine style of lock isn't overly trendy these days.

Given the landscape of the NRL, Bhana has to show something else to his game; does he have footwork or a great pair of hands? This is where Tigers forward Elijah Taylor offers value as he often plays first-receiver while also tackling and taking tough carries, so it'll be very interesting to see Bhana's angle.

Former Junior Kiwis forward Sam Mataora is a Cook Islands rep and while he's got loose ties to Aotearoa via being born in Cook Is, I've always kept an eye on Mataora. From when he was coming through the grades at Canberra to last season where he enjoyed a boost in minutes and was one of the Knights' better forwards where his size and footwork made him a key force.

There's great scope for Mataora to continue to develop as he's a leader of the forward pack by default, having been at the Knights for a few years now and his combination with new recruits Josh Starling and Jamie Buhrer could give the Knights a cheeky dose of funky through the middle.

Danny Levi could explode this season.

David Bhana has to show growth in what he offers.

Sam Mataora will be crucial to the Knights' hopes of holding their own in the forwards.