The speculation surrounding the head coaching position for the Newcastle Knights is coming to a close. The race has been narrowed to just five candidates who could replace Wayne Bennett.
Reports have emerged that the five remaining candidates are Daniel Anderson, Brett Kimmorley, Garth Brennan, Terry Matterson and Rick Stone. Knights officials met on Thursday to talk about the coaching position, and although no formal interviews have taken place, it is believed that the club came up with the five candidates listed during the meeting.
Daniel Anderson is currently the general manager of football at the Parramatta Eels. Anderson being linked to the Newcastle job has apparently upset many staff members at the Eels, as he only signed a four-year contract with the club last year.
Anderson has coached over 140 NRL games in his stints at the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels. He also coached at English Super League club St Helens. He has taken teams to two grand finals, and won the 2002 Coach of the Year award. Anderson also has experience coaching at international level, coaching the New Zealand Kiwis for two years.
Brett Kimmorley started his illustrious NRL playing career at the Knights, making his NRL debut for the team in 1995. However, he was behind Andrew Johns in the pecking order, and moved away from the team after only playing six games for them. He then went on to play 307 first grade games, and played 10 times in State of Origin, as well as playing 15 Tests for Australia.
His only coaching experience has been as an assistant. He has been assistant coach at the Canterbury Bulldogs as well as the Canberra Raiders.
Garth Brennan was an assistant coach at the Knights before Wayne Bennett arrived at the club, and was also their under 20s team coach. He played reserve grade rugby league for the Knights and following a promising coaching stint at the Penrith Panthers, he was signed by Phil Gould for the 2012 season. As an assistant to Ivan Cleary and coach of their youth team, he has been considered a first grade coach in the making.
Terry Matterson is a former NRL player and played over 200 NRL games, making one State of Origin appearance. He had been head coach of Super League side the Castleford Tigers for seven seasons before becoming the assistant coach at the North Queensland Cowboys in 2012.
He also coached at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, being in charge of the US team – the tournament’s surprise packets. He coached the Tomahawks to their first ever finals appearance at a World Cup, beating more fancied teams such as Wales and the Cook Islands before they were knocked out by a dominant Australian team.
Rick Stone was the head coach of the Knights from 2009 before Wayne Bennett’s arrival in 2012, and has been serving as an assistant coach at the Knights since then.
He was also coach of the Fiji team at the 2013 World Cup. It was assumed that Stone would take over the head coaching role upon Bennett’s departure, but apparently Stone has fallen down the pecking order, possibly because of the team’s average performances with him as head coach.
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