Knights boss confident Dom Young will stay due to ex-Leeds Rhinos man

There’s been a lot of speculation about ex-Huddersfield Giants winger Dom Young after his brilliant exploits in the Rugby League World Cup scoring nine tries already in the tournament.

The Newcastle Knights man has entered the final year of his deal at the club and upwards of five clubs are chasing his signature.

He has confirmed he will be at the club in 2023 and coach Adam O’Brien is confident that he will stay at Newcastle beyond that due to the English presence at the club boosted by the arrival of former Leeds Rhinos boss Brian McDermott.

“Everyone wants him to stay, Dom wants to stay,” O’Brien told the Newcastle Herald.

“We’ve got a really strong English base now, if you’re talking about Bailey Hodgson and (assistant coach) Brian McDermott now with Dom.

“But he’s a very driven young bloke. If you listened to him at the back end of last year, especially at the awards night, he is not content and he wants more.

“I’m sure the club will sit down and we’ll get that all sorted as soon as he has returned.”

Young is the only Knights player who went to the cup, but his impressive performances have come as no surprise to O’Brien.

“I’m not shocked with his form… What he is doing now is on the back of what he did consistently well for us.

“He is nowhere near his ceiling. He’s a young man on a journey and he’s got so much in front of him.

“I look forward to him getting back, (but) I think he’ll need a pretty decent rest after the World Cup.”