Newcastle Knights have re-signed their promising kiwi hooker Danny Levi until the end of 2020. Levi has steadily developed into a started hooker with the Knights and the arrival of new coach Nathan Brown has only had a positive impact on Levi as it has resulted in Levi enjoying plenty of minutes as a key play-maker for Newcastle.

Like Jason Taumalolo did, Levi is sticking with the club that recruited him out of Aotearoa with Levi moving from Wellington to join the Knights. Levi was already signed on until 2018, however a three-year deal is a clear sign of faith in Levi and as the Knights are in the process of getting back to a point of relevance in the NRL, Levi is going to play a key role for Newcastle moving forward.

The Knights are mentioned as being in the mix for any off-contract NRL player and they have the cap space to go out and chase big names, however with Levi locked in for three more years, it doesn't look as though Newcastle will be looking for a top-tier dummy half any time soon. They will instead invest in developing Levi to the point where he is among the NRL's best in his position and there are encouraging signs that Levi can establish himself as the go-to dummy half in Newcastle.

In five games this season, Levi has played over 60 minutes in all of them, including a 75-minute effort against the Rabbitohs in round three. Levi is averaging 3.6 runs out of dummy half per-game and when he's running the footy, he sparks the Knights into action; Levi averages 10.55m/per-carry this season. As with any little middle defender, Levi has to improve his defence and he'll need to get his missed tackle average down from 2.2 missed tackles/per-game, while he could also benefit from developing a strong kicking game as he's yet to register a kick this year; Cameron Smith (the best of the best) averages 5.6 kicks/per-game.

With Newcastle eager to rebuild their club with a strong core of local youngsters, it's pretty damn cool that our #KiwiNRL lad is getting the nod in such a key position. Don't forget that Newcastle will have Kalyn Ponga arriving next season and if Ponga opts to represent Aotearoa, then Newcastle will have Ponga at fullback and Levi at hooker and that could be a very funky combination.

There has been talk about Levi pushing for a Kiwis hooker spot and while he's definitely in contention to make the Anzac Test and World Cup squad, Aotearoa is well-stocked for depth at dummy half. Issac Luke is still the top dawg and Kodi Nikorima has been named to come off the bench for Brisbane Broncos this week; Nikorima's best work for Brisbane and Aotearoa has seen him add some spice to either team's attack around the ruck.

My top rotation still has Luke starting and Nikorima coming off the bench, while Lewis Brown is a capable job-doer and there's even a chance that utilities like Peta Hiku or Kenny Bromwich could take that bench spot. Levi is still down the pecking order, he is ahead of Christchurch's Matt McIlwrick though.