Newcastle winger James McManus says the return of coach Rick Stone could be a boost for the NRL club, admitting that players struggled to handle the prestige that came with former mentor Wayne Bennett.
“I think sometimes with Wayne and the guys that were here, a lot of guys sort of went into their shells for a while there,” McManus said.
“There’s a mystique, or a shadow (with Bennett) and it’s a much more enjoyable environment at the moment .
“We’ve still been working hard, so it hasn’t come at a cost of that hard stuff as well and hopefully we’ll have a great year.”
McManus, who played under Stone during the 47-year-old’s first stint in charge of the Knights from 2009 to 2011, says that the players feel a greater sense of accountability now that Bennett has departed.
“Everyone feels like they’ve got a bit more ownership of the place now, it’s their responsibility to take things forward,” he said.
“Us as players, it’s our responsibility.”
Stone served as an assistant coach under Bennett during the supercoach’s three season stint in the Hunter and McManus believes that he’s improved as a coach since his first spell in charge.
“We’re certainly working a lot harder, I think that’s something he’s continued on from Wayne Bennett and he’s created a really great environment for everyone up in Newcastle and everyone’s enjoying what they’re doing,” he said.
“There’s just a really good vibe around the place at the moment and that’s something Stoney brings to the table as a coach, he did the last time and he’s done it again now, so it’s really enjoyable”
The emergence of the Mata’utia clan has given McManus and fellow veteran winger Akulia Uate serious competition for positions in first grade but McManus says it’s a blessing to have so much depth at the club.
“The media always loves to hype up young guys coming through and generally the media don’t have too much of a clue what they’re talking about,” he said.
“It’s good having the depth in the club, Akulia and I have both been working really hard and we know what we bring to the club and we know how hard we’ve been working and what that’s going to result in.
“The future of the club is strong, we’ve got good depth and every club needs good depth so it’s going to be a good year.”
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Bennett's style of play -- generally characterised as low risk with a focus on field position through kicking and forward work, preferably with big outside backs to take hit ups as the forwards tire -- is something Newcastle never really had historically, and the players available weren't necessarily the right mix for it either (lacking the rep quality forward pack the Broncos had). Gidley as CEO should be judged on how the club is performing financially, now that they've extracted themselves from the sinking of the SS Nathan Tinkler. Phil Gould didn't have much experience as a general manager before taking on that role at the Panthers and by most accounts he has improved their situation in the front office as well as on the field, knowledge of more local factors can be very valuable for a community organisation like a club.
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
Chris, why wasn't he a right fit? If he wasn't you have to ask yourself why the most successful NRL coach of all time couldn't fit in at your club. Bennett 's style of play, whatever that is, didn't seem to stop him winning premierships elsewhere. I can't help think that Wayne's biggest problem is that he wasn't born and bred in Newcastle. I agree with Casper that there seems to be finger pointing at Bennet to distract everybody from the fact the club just gives jobs for the boys. Gidley as a CEO? No experience, but he has played for the Knights. Stone was hired without interviewing other candidates including Tim Sheens and Daniel anderson. I like the Knights but they are really looking like following Cronulla in terms of being unprofessional.
Casper
Guest
Gees, that Wayne Bennett can drag a club down, can't he. Last year was the 'annus horribilus' for Newcastle who never had their minds on the job properly after the Alex McKinnon injury. I think it also took a toll on Bennett who has never been distracted in his coaching role before. Seems to be a quiet campaign behind the scenes to blame Bennett for Newcastle's poor showing, excusing their leadership group of Gidley, Mullen, Scott & Smith. Next article is likely to be someone saying how much they're learning under Rick Stone, which they never got under Bennett. Guess he's got them training harder and they're fitter & bigger than Bennett had them, that's generally the first quote of the year. I Love the comment from McManus that "the media don't have too much of a clue". After the Channel 10 dummy spit after Chris Lynn subtly bagged their delayed coverage of the Big Bash into Qld when miked up, McManus might be asked to write an apology to the rugby league media. After all, they do think they know everything. Anyway, hope the Knights make the best of 2015 with the Mata'utia clan under Stone before Canterbury or St George steal them away.
chris n
Guest
As a knights fan looking forward to this season more than any glad to have stone back. Bennet was never a right fit for the club his style of play was never a right fit for the way knights play there football bennet did take us one way game away from a final but we were never going to match souths or roosters playing bennets style of play our forward pack was not strong enough. Stone also took us to the finals the year before bennet arrived with a much weaker squad. So looking forward to next year regardless to where we finish looking forward to some entertaining football rather then bennets boring style of play.
Jay C
Roar Guru
I already said no more stories about players saying "We didn't try our best last year, but this year we will" Stone was there last year. This seems like typical nonsense. They failed last year because they weren't getting payed, their stars were being demoralised by the owner of the club and they had to deal with a massive tragedy. Why didn't they all 'go into their shells' the year before when they nearly made the GF under Bennett.