Wayne Bennett has revealed one of his first tasks when he took over as Newcastle coach was to insist the Knights re-signed club great Danny Buderus.
The former NSW skipper left the Knights in 2008 to join English Super League outfit Leeds Rhinos under something of a cloud with a year remaining on his contract as then coach Brian Smith opted to overhaul his squad.
Although Buderus was not directly told by Smith he was not wanted, he felt his future lay elsewhere with the coach wielding the axe over teammates such as Clint Newton and Kirk Reynoldson, and was allowed to leave without a fight.
The 34-year-old was widely expected to hang up his boots at the conclusion of the 2011 Super League season, but a call from Bennett brought him home.
''I'm very pleased he's coming back,'' Bennett said. ''He is a wonderful player and it's only right that someone of his talent and standing at the club should finish his career in Newcastle.''
Buderus ended his three-year stint in England by helping the Rhinos to a dramatic Super League premiership, and Bennett will not hesitate to make him his starting hooker.
He also confirmed Kurt Gidley would begin the year at five-eighth with big-money signing Darius Boyd to be the club's new fullback.
And the veteran coach, who will lead the NRL All Stars side against the Indigenous All Stars on the Gold Coast on Saturday, was satisfied with the strength of his squad as he looks to become the first man to lead four different clubs to premierships.
''It has all been very good, the players have been working extremely hard, but they just need to play now,'' Bennett said.
''There are some good players there.''
He denied there was any extra pressure on him to bring success to the club with multi-millionaire owner Nathan Tinkler investing so heavily to hire him from St George Illawarra on a deal believed to be worth in the region of $1.5million a season.
''I've only ever worked at one-town teams,'' he said.
''It's a fact of life for me and not something I'm worried about.''
CANTERBURY premiership-winning fullback Luke Patten has made a plea to crowds to stop treating his English Super League club, Salford, as a laughing stock, British media reports.
The Reds finished 11th on the Super League table in 2011 in a season that saw four coaches take charge, including Australian Matt Parish.
''Last year people saw us as a laughing stock and that was probably fair enough because of all the dramas that were going on,'' Patten, 32, told British tabloids.
''I just want the club to be run properly now because the fans deserve that.''
Assistant coach Phil Veivers has been named head coach for the upcoming season.
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