Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien has praised the work ethic of teenage NRL star Bradman Best after the young centre produced two clutch moments in the Knights’ win on Friday.
The 19-year-old brushed off concerns of an ankle injury to produce two try assists, a line break and 113 running metres to terrorise Warriors centre Peta Hiku in the Knights’ 20-16 win in Gosford.
A stunning flick pass and then an inside ball while falling handed Hymel Hunt a double, with Knights coach Adam O’Brien saying it is just a glimpse at Best’s developing ability.
“I’d like to think at his age he’s got a whole lot more improvement in him,” O’Brien said.
“The thing that I will say, usually with young talented guys, you have to be constantly on top of them to get their preparation right and keeping their hunger.
“I don’t have to do that with this kid.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
“What you see out there in a game and how focused he looks, that’s what he’s like on Monday morning when he rolls into the joint.
“He’s just determined young man and I’m really fortunate to be able to coach him.”
Best’s two moments were the difference for the Knights with Hunt’s last try with four minutes on the clock stealing the win.
Warriors coach Nathan Brown handed Best his NRL debut with the Knights back in 2019 and couldn’t help but marvel too.
“He’s very dangerous Braddy, you saw what he can come up with and thankfully with the new rules of the game centres can get a lot of one-on-ones now and Braddy in those zones is quite dangerous,” he said.
“We needed to be better, but some days the opposition are a bit better in the one-on-one situations and tonight Braddy came up with it.”
The win has given the Knights a perfect start to the NRL season as they look towards hosting Wests Tigers on Sunday, which will mark Mitchell Pearce’s 300th NRL game.
“It’s a really special one, 300. It’s unreal,” O’Brien said.
“I’m really looking forward to the week, he deserves this, he deserves the guys to rally around him, which I know they will.
“We’ll have him ready.
“It’s not so much about Mitchell’s performance at the end of that week, it’ll be everyone else around him, including myself, to make sure we do our jobs and make this as memorable as we can for him.”
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Geez, this reads like a Sports Journalist wrote it. Good comment.
Big Daddy
Guest
No way. He's not a fullback.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
With Ponga due back, this kid in his current form and a pretty decent pack the Knights will give a lot of cheek this year no doubt.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Haha well played. I did say “in the frame”. Which I guess translates to “you are the best centre available but we’ll be opting to play a fullback there instead”.
mushi
Roar Guru
He's listed as a centre... Clearly ineligible for NSW :silly:
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! Best proved to be the difference between the two sides. Both sides handled the conditions really well with high completion rates and low error counts. The Warriors tried to back up their previous week's conservative style to grind out another win, and it nearly paid off , leading with 5 to go. But then Best won the game for Knights with another trademark powerful burst to lay on the winning try for Hunt. With a few big guns still to return like Ponga, Fitzgibbon & Green , the Knights have got something to build on for the season.
Albo
Roar Rookie
If this rain doesn't stop soon, it might be in QLD !
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Can’t imagine why. He’ll definitely be in the frame for NSW.
Muzz
Guest
He'd love Bondi.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
They should take a leaf out of Queensland's book and just select him anyway.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Woy Woy’s in Qld ?
mushi
Roar Guru
Pity they just confirmed he isn't eligible to play for NSW.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
He looked to be in 2nd gear for most of the first half suggesting that ankle was still ‘ginger’ then kaboom game and heart breaker. What he did Roger would have done- 4 or 5 years ago..he wasn’t the twinkle toe line breaking RTS we know in 2020, disappointingly, he didn’t really trouble the Titans last week or the Knights last night. Pearce had a real dig defensively on his 299th. Be great if Ponga could be a surprise guest at the party next week..