sport, local-sport, Kurt Gidley, Newcastle Knights, NRL Nines, Adam O'Brien

Four seasons after farewelling the NRL, retired Newcastle legend Kurt Gidley is poised to make a comeback for the Knights in the NRL Nines in Perth. Gidley, whose playing career ended at the end of 2017 after a two year stint in the English Super League with Warrington, has agreed to pull on the red and blue for his old club with the Newcastle Herald told he will be a part of coach Adam O'Brien's 18-player squad for the Nines tournament on February 14 and 15. The Knights are expected to officially announce his surprise inclusion this week after the club is given the all clear by the NRL. With O'Brien set to overlook many of his big names and take a relatively young squad to Perth, the experience of 37-year-old Gidley should provide a huge boost. "Kurt's one of the greats of the club so just his presence around the boys will be inspirational,"one source said. "He's also kept himself in great shape and looks almost as fit as he's ever been so he'll be a force on the field as well." Gidley last donned the red and blue back in 2015. He played 16 seasons at the top level with Newcastle and is behind only Danny Buderus [257] as the most capped Knight of all time after playing 251 NRL games for the club, 123 as captain. He finished his career with a further 55 games for Warrington and played in a Challenge Cup final before retiring at the end of the 2017 season.

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