FORMER Newcastle director of football Michael Hagan has revealed the club refused the chance to move dumped winger Akuila Uate on and save up to half a million dollars in their salary cap earlier this season.

The Knights are currently in dire straits and firm wooden spoon favourites for the second year running, with severe roster management issues to boot.

The most glaring of these is the fact that over $500,000 of salary cap space is being spent on the out of form Uate, who was dropped to reserve grade last weekend as coach Nathan Brown plumped for youngsters Cory Denniss and Jake Mamo against the Cowboys.

Speculation is rife that the club are now trying to move Uate on from the final season of his contract, a four-year deal that was inked in early 2013.

Round 19

At the time he was the premier winger in the game and attracting significant interest from both rival clubs and codes, having scored 59 tries in the three previous seasons and represented Australia and NSW.

But Hagan, who was the first casualty of a club review following Brown’s appointment last November, revealed the Knights had the opportunity to part ways with Uate soon after the 2016 season kicked off.

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Akuila Uate in action for the Kangaroos in 2011. Source: News Limited

Former Newcastle football manager Mick Hagan joins Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover on the Market Watch podcast to discuss the QLD Origin team and what’s wrong with the Knights roster.

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“Aku was given that opportunity to establish himself this year and we’re now at the halfway point of the season,” Hagan told the Fox Sports NRL Market Watch podcast.

“I think he may have one more year to run on his contract and that was a deal that was agreed maybe three or four years ago at a high level.

“I do know that he had an opportunity to move at the start of the year but that was declined by the football club early in the season.

“For whatever reason they were happy for him to stay but I think the landscape has changed and it’s become more problematic because you’ve got to find another club willing to maybe pay some of that contract for next year or consider other codes or maybe going to England.”

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At the height of his powers in 2012 Uate knocked back an approach by the ARU, who then turned their attention to Israel Folau, now the most recognisable face in the 15-man code.

Approaches have again come from rugby union this season, this time in the lucrative Japanese market, but Uate’s manager Darryl Mather has stated previously the Fijian flyer intends to stay at Newcastle until the end of 2017.

With a massive turnover of senior players seeing over 1000 games worth of NRL experience depart the club last year, the Knights are struggling at the bottom of the ladder, five competition points adrift of the 15th placed Roosters.

Not helping their plight is a large chunk of their salary cap is currently watching from the stands.

Along with Uate, injured prop Kade Snowden (on an estimated $400,000 a year), Jarrod Mullen (on roughly $550,000 a year) and fringe forward Jack Stockwell (currently playing reserve grade on $325,000 a year) take up over $1.8 million worth of the club’s cap.

Also sidelined long-term due to concussion concerns is veteran winger James McManus.

The Knights are pushing for both he and Snowden to be medically retired by the NRL, which would see a portion of their salary not counted toward the club’s cap as was the case with Anthony Watmough at Parramatta.

In a significant blow to the club’s standing, co-captain Tariq Sims opted against taking up an option for 2017 in favour of a three-year deal with rivals St. George Illawarra next season.

It’s understood Sims had a contract of similar value on the table from the Knights but chose the extra security of a long-term commitment with the Dragons.

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That Newcastle chose not to up their offer for Sims, or fellow in-demand back-rower Joseph Tapine — now turning heads since joining the Raiders at the start of the year — has alarm bells ringing for Hagan.

“I’m a little bit surprised that that didn’t get sorted out,” Hagan said in reference to negotiations with Sims.

“They’ve already struggled with the retention of Joey Tapine who’s gone to Canberra.

“I think that’s a real critical decision because for me there’s not too many backrowers that I can see like that.

“You’re in that scenario where you’ve got to weigh up the market value of your best players.

“The markets are a very strong force at the moment.

“Blokes like Joey Tapine, Tariq Sims and Robbie Rochow are going to command some interest.

“So you’ve really got to meet the market as a club if that’s what you want to happen and you’ve got to find the necessary dollars to get those deals agreed (to) and if you don’t well then players are prepared to move.

“That’s the reality of the game at the moment.”

This writer is on Twitter: @dan_walsh64

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