THE Knights face stiff competition to sign Canterbury firebrand Jack Hetherington after Canberra Raiders confirmed they were interested in recruiting him as a replacement for Newcastle-bound forward Adam Elliott.
The Knights announced on Monday they had signed Elliott for the next three seasons.
The Canberra back-rower will link with Newcastle at the end of this season, allowing him to unite with his girlfriend Millie Boyle, who has joined the Knights' NRLW side.
Newcastle held discussions recently with Hetherington's management and were expected to offer the 25-year-old a three-season deal.
Hetherington is contracted to Canterbury for next season but the Bulldogs have reportedly told him he is free to explore other options.
Hetherington's father Brett played 119 first-grade games for Canberra between 1992 and 1998, helping them win the 1994 premiership.
He played most of those games alongside Ricky Stuart, who is now the Raiders' head coach.
Raiders CEO Don Furner confirmed this week that the Green Machine had their eyes on Hetherington.
"We're always looking for quality players," Furner told the Canberra Times.
"He's a quality player and if Canterbury can't keep him we'll definitely be interested."
The other clubs reportedly in the market for Hetherington are Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra.
Brett Hetherington spent much of his career playing under the coaching of Tim Sheens, following him from Canberra to North Queensland. Sheens is now the head of football at the Tigers.
After retiring from rugby league at the end of 2001, Brett moved to Newcastle and for several years owned Belmont's Gunyah Hotel.
Jack played his first junior football for Valentine-Eleebana Devils, and his partner is a Novocastrian.
His much-publicised judiciary record would appear a concern, after being charged eight times and suspended for 15 games since his debut season in 2018. But the Herald has been told that Newcastle's high-performance manager, Hayden Knowles, provided a glowing reference, both for Hetherington's athletic ability and character.
Knowles worked with Hetherington, rated as the NRL's fastest forward last season according to GPS tracking data, when they were at the Panthers together.
Meanwhile, speculation surfaced on Thursday linking Newcastle to Brisbane hooker Jake Turpin, who has been granted permission to speak to rival clubs.
Turpin has not played in the NRL since round six, and the Knights could use another specialist dummy-half to share the role with Chris Randall.
Their No.1 hooker, Jayden Brailey, is not expected to return from a ruptured Achilles tendon for another five or six weeks.
Should he decide to join Newcastle, Turpin would link with fellow ex-Bronco Anthony Milford, who is yet to reveal if he will be staying with the Knights next season or joining the Dolphins.
