Newcastle Knights bid farewell to six players, including Leigh Leopards-bound speedster
David Armstrong celebrates a try for Newcastle Knights in 2024
Leigh Leopards-bound fullback David Armstrong was one of six players to bid farewell to Newcastle Knights at the NRL club’s awards night on Tuesday.
The Knights confirmed the departures of six players at their annual end-of-season awards evening following their elimination from the finals last weekend when they were defeated by the North Queensland Cowboys.
Armstrong was unveiled as Leigh’s first recruit for 2025 back in July, with the Australian speedster signing a three-year contract with the Super League club from next season.
The 23-year-old came through the Knights system and made his NRL debut earlier this year, scoring five tries in as many appearances in first-grade.
Armstrong has also made 35 appearances in total for the Knights’ New South Wales Cup side during his career, scoring 31 tries.
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And it had also been previously confirmed that promising forward Myles Martin would be departing Newcastle at the end of the season to take up an opportunity with Canberra Raiders.
Fiji international prop Daniel Safaiti has also left the Knights, with the 28-year-old having made 183 appearances for the club since his first-grade debut back in 2016. He also earned Origin honours during his time with Newcastle, playing seven games for New South Wales between 2019 and 2021.
The Knights also bid farewell to outside-back Enari Tuala, who has scored 40 tries in 87 games for the club since arriving from the Cowboys in 2020.
Krystian Mapapalangi, who was born in Australia and is of Tongan heritage, departs the Knights with six first-grade appearances to his name after making his debut in 2022.
And the sixth player on Newcastle’s departure list is Tom Jenkins, who arrived at the club ahead of this season from Penrith Panthers, playing five NRL games during the 2024 campaign for Adam O’Brien’s side.
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