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Opinion
Happy new year to every rugby league fan, all the Roarers and everyone else for that matter.
Here we are in 2023, the 117th season of first grade rugby league in Australia will be played, and a 17th team shall join the competition.
A famous saying was once said about how it all begins in the office. Who said this? Jack Gibson, one of the greatest coaches of all time. Let’s run his gauntlet of the 1980s (not including State of Origin).
1981-1983: Parramatta Eels. In all three seasons he coached Parramatta, they won the Grand Final.
1985-1987: Cronulla Sharks. In all three seasons he coached them, they didn’t make the finals.
How does that work? Two different clubs, two different businesses, two different teams and two different cultures. To add on to my point, let’s take a look more recently to Michael Maguire.
2010-2011: Wigan Warriors
First year: Premiers
Second year: Qualifying semi
2012-2017: South Sydney Rabbitohs
First four years: Made the finals (won the premiership in 2014)
Final two years: Missed the finals (injuries and loss of players can have an impact)
2019-2022: Wests Tigers
Never coached them to the finals and to add insult to injury.
Let’s take a look a Madge’s 2022 record:
Wests Tigers: three wins and nine losses (wooden spooners)
New Zealand Kiwis: six wins and one loss (eliminated in the semi-finals)
How does that work? Three different clubs, three different businesses, three different teams and three different cultures.
During the Newcastle Knights’ glory years, they were playing ruthless football. They knew how much the team meant to their town and their fans so that’s who they for – play for the town, play for the fans and play for each other. As time went on, that fizzled out and we all know what else happened. Things that aren’t worth mentioning.
After the Knights had a bad season, there were calls from some fans mentioning Adam O’Brien should be sacked. They are within their right to say so but I disagree.
(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
Losing Mitchell Pearce was a big blow, and Jayden Brailey’s injury was a setback, but our season ended with Mitchell Barnett’s trial for Street Fighter. That brought our team down and they never got their heads up.
The club’s culture needs to be converted back into the ways it was during our glory years – those years when we were ruthless, we knew how to make the finals and when Marathon was a fortress. Our ground was feared because other teams knew it would be a war to play the Knights in Newcastle.
It’s not the idea of a coach with a winning mentality comes kicking the door down and gives a rag tag team a winning attitude them turns them into champions. That works in movies, as does getting a disturbed water boy into the gridiron team to become champions, and a 13-year-old boy with magic sneakers playing for his lowly basketball team to help them into the playoffs and driving a time travelling DeLorean.
Remember when I mentioned how it all begins in the office? Newcastle acquired the services of Peter Parr as head of football, and he’s already shown some value. Two players missed the team bus, so they got dropped and we have made two player trades, on both trades I think we got the better end of the deal.
With that being said, I can see the Knights having a better season this year. Fun fact: Newcastle attempted to bring Peter back home in 2019 but he was still contracted to North Queensland, which he honoured. Had we got him then, we’d have a different club culture. Things like this though do take their time.
Our duty as supporters is still attend the games and back our team. I have a fair amount of travelling I plan to do this year for my team and more of my bucket list to tick off.
Whether you attend all games, every home game or live a distance away and can only make a handful, every Knights is the biggest Knights supporter so instead of making a bullocks competition, let’s back each other and show just why we’re the most passionate fans in the league.
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