First casualty emerges after Knights’ $2m clean out bombshell

A State of Origin star has been identified as the first player to leave the Knights after a $2m clean out bomb dropped.

The game was rocked on Monday night when it emerged Newcastle is reportedly well over the salary cap heading into the 2025 season and needs to slash players from its roster in coming months.

Recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan has been given the task of squeezing the club under the cap for next year.

News Corp’s Brent Read first reported O’Sullivan will be looking at some of the club’s highest paid players.

It has now emerged that Daniel Saifiti will be the first player shown the door.

The former NSW State of Origin prop is under contract until the end of 2026, but he’s been told to explore other options for next season and beyond, according to the Newcastle Herald.

The Knights are facing the ugly scenario of paying some of Saifiti’s wages when he plays for another team next year.

His high price tag has not matched his on-field performances recently and he has been spending a lot of time on the bench.

“I think Stevie Wonder could see that our salary cap is not in the best position,” Saifiti told the Newcastle Herald.

“But they’ve been up front and honest, and I have to respect that.

“If I wanted to dig my heels in and stay, I could stay.

“But I love this club too much, if that’s the way they want to go … I’ll do what’s best for myself and my family, but I also have this club’s interests at heart as well.

“The club has always been really good to me and (brother) Jacob. But at the same time, I think we’ve been good for them, too.

“I’ll always be part of the Newcastle Knights – I’m a life member here – but if I’m here, I’m here, if I’m not, I’m not.

“My family comes first.”

Among the other Knights stars facing an uncertain future are Jack Hetherington and hooker Jayden Brailey.

Read said on NRL360 on Monday night the departures of Saifiti, Brailey and Hetherington would cut $2 million from their books.

“They will because they will let go of say Daniel Saifiti who has been told he’s free to leave and he’s on $800,000,” Read said.

“Jack Hetherington, I don’t think (Jayden) Brailey has been told right now he can go, but it will happen I imagine in the next week or so that he’s told he can find something else.

“But if you add those three blokes together that’s almost $2 million out of your salary cap.

“You can’t be over the cap because the NRL won’t register the contracts, they can’t be. They are in a position where their rosters spots are filled.

So they can’t sign more players because their cap is at its absolute limit. If they sign any more players they will go over the cap, and you’ve got to sign 30 players.”

“So they can’t sign more players because their cap is at its absolute limit. If they sign any more players they will go over the cap, and you’ve got to sign 30 players.”

The Knights are still actively recruiting and have been linked with boom Eels talent Blaize Talagi.