After six weeks of the 2019 NRL season, there are three teams still searching for their second win: Brisbane, Newcastle and Canterbury-Bankstown.
The three men at the head of those teams – Anthony Siebold of the Broncos, Dean Pay of the Bulldogs and Nathan Brown of the Knights – have all been weathering the added scrutiny that inevitably comes with a lack of results.
But Roar rugby league expert Mary Konstantopoulos argued on the Game of Codes podcast that Brown is the only coach truly deserving of the intense pressure being piled on him this season. Listen to the discussion in the player below to hear why Konstantopoulos believes Siebold and Pay deserve more time, and how many more chances Brown gets before he should be shown the door.
The Daily Telegraph is reporting Brown’s unique performance-based contract does not require a top eight finish in 2019, suggesting the coach may be able to see out the season if Newcastle’s season is anything but a complete disaster.
The Broncos, Bulldogs and Knights will respectively face the Sharks, Cowboys and Eels in Round 7.
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How long do Siebold, Pay and Brown have left on their contracts?
PGNEWC
Roar Rookie
Although Newcastle got over the Eels who started flat Browns days are still numbered he is relying on the individual talents of Pongia and Pearce and can't get anything out of his second tier players - next loss will see him gone
Bazza
Roar Rookie
With Dean Pay just having extended his contract by 12 months and another win banked last night, I think the pressure is lifting off him. Added to that, his team have really lifted over the last couple of weeks. Sure they're still making errors and losing games, but they're not losing by much. The dogs are playing with attitude and enjoying their game, wins will follow. I hope so, for a team of unknown and reasonably young players, they're giving it a great shot. I think the Broncos are having a problem getting used to the Seibold coaching methods and there's a few still missing Wayne. A long coaching contract, he's looking a bit silly after all the huge build up he enjoyed last year, but he's safe and the Broncos will come good. I don't hold out much hope for the Knights and Nathan Brown though. Certainly he has a good team on paper but unfortunately the game is played on grass - as the saying goes. Brown is the King of hype and publicity - keep your name out there and you're sure to convince everyone you're doing great things. But the abysmal performance by the Knights overall this season lends support to their current position of bottom of the ladder. Personally, I think they need a new coach sooner rather than later and definitely someone with a very strong character who will pull them into line. Cellar dwellers otherwise.