More bad news for Newcastle

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Newcastle Knights. Currently on a losing streak that stretches back to the end of March, the Knights now know star playmaker Jarrod Mullen could be missing for the rest of the NRL season. And if that wasn't bad enough, Newcastle have been told that Joey Leilua will leave the club at the end of the current season. The 23-year-old is set to end his two-year stay with the Knights, with Canberra a likely destination for the talented centre. After an impressive start to the season in which the Knights won four games on the bounce, Newcastle's campaign has slipped off track in recent weeks and the signs aren't good for Rick Stone's men heading into an important part of the year.

Halfback Mullen will be sidelined for at least four to six weeks with the toe injury that the Newcastle medical staff have struggled to get to the bottom of. The influential playmaker last appeared for the club in their Anzac Day defeat to the Cowboys, with the toe problem ruling him out of the Country Origin side the following week. After a cortisone injection failed to solve the problem ahead of the loss against Manly, the decision was taken to rest Mullen in the hope of the injury improving. As it stands, though, the club are waiting to see signs of progress before opting for an operation that would end the 28-year-old's season.

Leilua had been contracted to the club until the end of 2016 after signing a new deal last year, although the former Sydney Rooster back inserted a clause that allowed him to leave Newcastle should head coach Wayne Bennett leave the Knights. Following the head coach's decision to return to Brisbane ahead of this season, Leilua has now exercised his right to push for a move and has now told the club that he will leave at the end of the current season, adding another headache to a Newcastle management that is already nursing a migraine.Already way out of Finals contention with the likes of bet365, the Knights are now much closer to the bottom of the ladder than they are the top eight.

The powerful Samoan centre has been an integral part of this Newcastle team since his arrival from the Roosters in 2013, scoring 27 tries in his 50 appearances, including one of the tries of 2013, and catching the eye in what is a fairly modest Knights back-line at times this season. Canberra have made no secret over their ambitions and have wasted little time in snapping up Gold Coast's Aidan Sezer and England second-rower Elliott Whitehead for next year, with Kangaroos front-row James Tamou and Leilua believed to be next on the Raiders' shopping list. Snapping up Leilua would give Canberra the chance to move Sisa Waqa back out to his preferred role on the wing, adding some much needed bite in the centre of the Raiders' back-line. If they can secure all their targets, Canberra could be one of the surprise packages next season.