England international Morgan Knowles has spoken to media at his new NRL club the Dolphins, talking about how tough it was to leave St Helens, whilst also revealing his early impressions of life down under and how Kristian Woolf impacted his move.
Woolf coached Knowles at St Helens before returning down under to take on a role within the Dolphins set-up, eventually taking over from Wayne Bennett as head coach.
Whilst in England, Woolf won three Grand Finals with Knowles a key player during each of those three seasons and the pair now reunite after Knowles signed a two-year deal with the forward revealing the prior relationship being one of the elements that encouraged him to step out his ‘comfort zone’ and make the switch to the NRL.
Speaking to club media about his time in Australia so far, Knowles explained: “It’s really different for me, I’ve only known one club as I came through the academy at Saints and I’ve had my full career there but it’s refreshing being at a new club and seeing new things.
“I had a relationship with Woolfy from working with him in England and it (an NRL move) was always something that I thought about and with the connection Woolfy, who I trust, the opportunity came up so I jumped at it.”
How Kristian Woolf convinced St Helens star to make NRL plunge
Speaking further on the decision to leave St Helens, for whom he debuted back in 2015 and played almost 250 games for, the loose forward admitted: “It was a tough decision, I love the club. I’ve got nothing bad to say about St Helens, the club or the people but I think I was ready for a new challenge and opportunity.”
Asked if he’d sourced inspiration or advice from other English forward who have conquered the NRL, such as Sam Burgess or fellow St Helens man James Graham, Knowles confirmed he’d not spoken too much but that he certainly took inspiration as he embarks on a bid to prove himself in a new comp.
He explained: “Putting myself out of my comfort zone by coming over here to prove myself again and if I could do a quarter of what some of those English boys have come over and done, then I’d be happy.”
As for Woolf’s impact on the switch, he said: “It was pretty big. It’s pretty daunting coming to a different competition and a new country and not knowing anyone, so having the comfort of him knowing me and having that trust was a big reason.
“He thinks a lot of St Helens too so it was always respectful but we’ve kept in contact since he left and he said ‘Look, if you ever want to come out then let me know’ and obviously, coming to the end of my contract at St Helens, those conversations started.”
Morgan Knowles talks early impressions of Australia
Knowles now looks set for a shot at his preferred position of loose forward given the fact hooker Jeremy Marshall-King is set for a period on the sidelines, meaning Kurt Donoghue will likely occupy that role.
With Max Plath unlikely to be fit for round one and captain Tom Gilbert potentially moving to the back-row, Knowles looks set for a crack at loose forward but when asked about his position and possible role, he emphasised his desire to earn the respect of his teammates first.
He acknowledged: “That’s my position at loose forward and ideally that’s where I’m wanting to come over and play but the competition here is really fierce and there’s loads of great players so first and foremost, I want to earn the respect of teammates by working hard and being tough, then selection and things like that will hopefully come off the back of it.”
As for the differences he’s faced down under, the heat was a major one with Knowles spending his off-season training in the sun whereas St Helens had their recent friendly called off due to snow.
“Sweating a lot, it’s hot and it’s completely different to what I’m used to but I came over early and have been here since November so I’ve been training for a while to try and adapt to the heat.”
In terms of on-field, he added: “The ruck is a little bit different and the boys are used to training at that speed so that’s something I have to catch up but I’m a lighter middle forward so it suits my game a little bit more, being quicker.”
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