KNIGHTS prodigal son Kade Snowden has revealed he walked away from Cronulla last year because he feared he might never get another chance to come home.
Almost a year to the day since he was poised to sign a two-year extension with the Sharks, only to pull the pen and eventually ink a four-year deal with the Knights after the intervention of soon-to-be owner Nathan Tinkler, Snowden said yesterday he was looking forward to playing against his former teammates for the first time in a trial at Muswellbrook on Saturday.
Snowden told the Newcastle Herald leaving the Knights to join Cronulla at the end of 2007 was the best decision he ever made, but returning to Newcastle was equally important.
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He enjoyed four successful years at the Sharks as a player and matured into a NSW and Australian prop.
But the burly Belmont North Sharks junior jumped at the chance to rejoin the club where he began his NRL career and captained two junior representative teams to grand finals.
That opportunity presented itself by way of Tinkler’s left-field phone call.
Cronulla had even called a press conference to announce the retention of one of the NRL’s most effective young front-rowers, but Tinkler’s favourite player baulked at the last minute.
It took three months – Tinkler had to firstly take ownership of the Knights then sign seven-time premiership-winning coach Wayne Bennett to a four-year contract – but the billionaire racing and mining magnate eventually got his man.
Branded a traitor by some supporters and commentators, Snowden said he left the Sharks with the blessing of coach Shane Flanagan and captain Paul Gallen, and is close friends with most of his former teammates.
‘‘To me, they made me out to be a traitor and all that, but I didn’t really see it that way,’’ Snowden said.
‘‘I agreed to terms but I didn’t put pen to paper, and all I wanted was to come home and that was my chance, so I took it.
‘‘[Sharks football manager] Darren Mooney and Shane Flanagan, they just said, ‘You do what’s going to make you happy’.
‘‘Even Paul Gallen came around and said, ‘Mate, just do what makes you happy’. They didn’t want me to go, but just to get that chance, I didn’t know if I’d ever get that chance again to come back, so that’s the reason I left.’’
Snowden was shocked by Tinkler’s phone call.
‘‘It was really surprising to me,’’ he said. ‘‘I knew that he liked me as a player but I didn’t know he liked me that much to get me back here the way he did. I’m really happy he did call.
‘‘It was the best decision I made, going down to Cronulla.
‘‘I love Cronulla. But just for me, I think I can be a better footballer under Wayne, and the main reason was to get back home and be close to my family again.’’
Snowden’s first game since leaving the Sharks was for the NRL All Stars at Skilled Park on February 4, then he played about 30 minutes of the first half of Newcastle’s 18-all draw with Penrith at Port Macquarie last Saturday.
The 25-year-old powerhouse said he enjoyed the All Stars experience and the week-long camp of training and community appearances on the Gold Coast, but he was disappointed with his and Newcastle’s performance against the Panthers.
Hampered by neck and back problems in his final season with the Sharks, Snowden said he had trained unhindered all summer because of the fitness program the Knights’ strength and conditioning staff had tailored for him.
Snowden played for Cronulla against Newcastle at Muswellbrook in the corresponding trial a year ago, and expects to feel ‘‘a bit strange’’ playing against the Sharks on Saturday.
Former Knights Isaac De Gois, who is back at Cronulla after three years in Newcastle, and Mark Taufua will experience similar emotions in their first game against their old club.
? Newcastle’s March 1 NRL pipe-opener against the Dragons at Hunter Stadium is on track to sell out after more than 3000 tickets were snapped up yesterday.
A Knights spokeswoman said there were still ‘‘plenty of tickets’’ available for the 33,000-seat venue but yesterday’s first-day sales figures were ‘‘unprecedented’’.
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