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Newcastle owe Nathan Brown a debt of gratitude – but who will replace him?

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Roar Guru
20th August, 2019
21

Nathan Brown’s time as coach of the Knights will conclude at the end of the 2019 season, whether or not Newcastle make the eight.

This sucks, but all he was meant to do was rebuild the club and he did. Brown brought the club back from what appeared to be damage beyond repair.

When he came in 2016, he set it straight what he was going to do and despite all the struggles, he got there.

He’s turned us into a team that players want to be part of – and not just for the paycheque. He signed quality, added depth and, best of all, succeeded in his rebuilding mission.

If someone told me two years ago Mitchell Pearce and David Klemmer would play for the Knights in 2019, I wouldn’t have believed them.

As for who should take his role, I have three candidates:

1. Kristian Woolf
The assistant coach for the Knights’ focus has been to improve their defence.

Despite being thrashed multiple times this season, Newcastle have conceded only 418 points this season, compared with 607 in 2018. With 189 points the difference, they’ll need to conceded 63 points each in their next three games to beat that – fat chance!

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2. Shaun Wane
The Wigan Warriors’ coach from 2011-2018, taking the club to five Super League grand finals and winning three.

He’s previously mentioned he would happily take on the challenge of coaching in the NRL – well, there’s an opening, so if he’s still ready for the challenge, come for it.

3. Danny Buderus
The local legend took over from Rick Stone in the final six games of 2015, sadly only winning twice.

He’s the most capped Knights player of all time but the least likely of the three to apply. Still, should he get the role, he’s got a better chance to succeed as the rebuilding days are over.

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Last year, I shook Brown’s hand and thanked him for all he did. When the Knights taste success in the coming years, we’ll have him to thank, as he built the platform.

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So Nathan Brown, from this Knights supporter and I hope many others, thank you very much for all you have done.

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