Las Vegas combine winner exits Knights as Young closes in on new deal

Las Vegas combine winner Marcus D’Acre has left Newcastle to sign with Israel Folau’s former team in Japanese rugby as the Knights close in on a new long-term deal for prolific winger Dominic Young.

Newcastle are about to embark on their fifth finals series in seven years, rebounding from the wooden spoon last season under new coach Justin Holbrook.

Young, who has scored 20 tries in 23 appearances, has starred in his second season back in the Hunter and the parties are close to finalising a deal that will keep him in Newcastle until at least the end of 2030

While the 25-year-old is going nowhere, D’Acre has quietly departed after being granted a release.

A Hong Kong and Canada rugby representative at under-age level, he arrived at the Knights on a two-year contract after impressing talent scouts during the NRL’s week-long exhibition in the United States in 2025.

As a 20-year-old D’Acre won the Las Vegas combine – a series of tests North American athletes were put through to gauge their potential for a career in the NRL – and had attracted interest from Cronulla and North Queensland.

An Australian passport holder through his father, Nigel, who was born in Melbourne and represented the US in rugby league, D’Acre jnr scored three tries in six matches in the NSW Cup, playing mostly at centre.

But D’Acre’s bid to make it in the NRL is over. He is switching back to the 15-a-side sport, linking with Japanese rugby team Urayasu D-Rocks.

Knights director of football Chris James said D’Acre’s management had approached the club for a release after the offer from Japan.

He is joining the same club where code-hopper Folau spent the past five years and where former Wallabies Jordan Petaia and Samu Kerevi play.

The Las Vegas combine was shelved this year in the NRL’s third visit to the casino mecca to open its season. Attention was instead directed to the annual nines tournament there to showcase local talent, with an American All Stars college team competing.

The combine concept did not deliver an NRL player, but it did produce one in the NRLW.

Canadian Megan Pakulis, one of the women’s winners in 2024, went on to join the Gold Coast Titans and made three appearances last year.

An official announcement about the retention of England international Young, meanwhile, is expected before the Knights kick off their finals campaign.

Young’s career looked to have stalled at Bondi Junction, despite scoring 26 tries from 31 games for the Roosters. However, a mid-season transfer to the Knights last year has proven a prudent move.

He is also poised to play a major role in England’s Rugby League World Cup campaign. The two-metre flanker has been named in coach Brian McDermott’s squad alongside fellow NRL players Kai Pearce-Paul, Morgan Smithies, Jayden Brailey, Victor Radley, Billy Smith, Hugo Savala, AJ Brimson, Morgan Knowles, Herbie Farnworth, Max King and Ben Talty.

Knights enforcer Jacob Saifiti handed four-week ban for brutal high shot

Newcastle prop Jacob Saifiti is facing a season-ending ban after being handed a four-game suspension for hitting Warriors winger Luke Laulilii in the head.

Saifiti was issued a grade two reckless high tackle charge on Monday morning after he was sent off in the Knights’ 46-32 loss to the Warriors, while Laulilii was knocked out by the heavy 13th-minute shot.

The Knights’ last-round bye means Saifiti’s ban won’t begin until week one of the finals. His only hope of playing again this season is to challenge the suspension at the judiciary on Tuesday evening and risk a potential five-game ban.

Saifiti’s availability for Fiji in the end-of-season World Cup will depend on how deep Newcastle go in the finals and how many games of his suspension are served at club level.

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Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.Adrian Proszenko is the Chief Rugby League Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement