The long-held theory in the NRL is that a player rarely hits their peak until they’ve had around four seasons getting used to the grind.
In the case of Adam O’Brien, the same could be true.
For the first three years of his debut head coaching stint in the NRL at Newcastle, he’s looked frustrated by a team that has not delivered on the field at the rate of improvement he expected.
Last year he copped plenty of ridicule when he pointed to his record of being “involved in four Grand Finals” from his previous stints as assistant coaches at Melbourne and the Roosters.
“I know how those teams prepared. I know the systems they used defensively,” he claimed after his team lost at home to a rudderless Bulldogs side which had already sacked their coach. “You don’t unlearn that knowledge. Applying it and getting it ingrained is going to take some time clearly.”
He blamed the club’s culture from many years prior, a comment which didn’t sit well with many of Newcastle’s old boys.
This is a blue-collar club which for its first two decades in the big league punched well above its weight due to a combination of investing in local talent and relying on players with a steel city work ethic.
Knights Immortal Andrew Johns. (Getty Images)
“Be the player everyone wants to play with” was a phrase coined by foundation coach Allan McMahon which had been passed down through the generations from the 1997 side which shocked Manly to win the ARL premiership to their counterparts four years later who pulled off one of the great Grand Final heists to embarrass red-hot favourites Parramatta.
The spirit of the Knights did get lost somewhere along the way when Nathan Tinkler assumed ownership of the club by making plenty of promises from his mining empire that quickly went six feet under.
Up until their 30-28 extra-time triumph over Canberra on Sunday afternoon, the Knights had not won a finals match in the aftermath of the Tinkler fiasco.
It was their first playoff victory since Wayne Bennett coached them to the preliminary final from seventh a decade ago with upsets over Canterbury and Melbourne before they were eliminated by the eventual premiers, the Roosters.
Rick Stone was the sacrificial lamb in the season following Bennett’s return to Brisbane and Nathan Brown oversaw the pain of two more wooden spoon seasons but was punted in 2019 when he still couldn’t get success even when a decent roster was installed in Newcastle.
Adam O’Brien. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)
Ever since, O’Brien has done well but never appeared happy nor assured of his long-term future.
After surviving the axe last year following a regression from two straight seasons of back to back low-end finals appearances, it looked like 2023 would be his last in charge when the Knights were paddling in 14th spot in Round 9 with a 3-1-5 record.
The likes of Des Hasler, John Morris, Paul McGregor and Justin Holbrook were tossed around as potential replacements as coach.
When they travelled to Penrith in Round 17, the premiers didn’t bother playing their State of Origin contingent even though they’d lost their previous match to North Queensland with their stars unavailable.
The Panthers still managed to beat the Knights 20-12 and the drums were beating about O’Brien being on the way out.
Tyson Gamble with Bradman Best. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
They responded with a 66-0 hiding of Canterbury and a win over the Tigers which proved little apart from the mediocrity of their opponents but when they beat the Storm at McDonald Jones Stadium in Round 21, the sniff of momentum grew into a pattern of confidence and now they have 10 wins on the trot for only the second time in club history.
The Knights can equal their record by downing the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday to earn a trip to Brisbane for a preliminary final showdown with the Broncos.
O’Brien last off-season admitted he had been soft on his players at times after a long hard look in the proverbial mirror.
Young coaches who don’t adjust on the run rarely see out their first contract or earn another one elsewhere.
Reports are now emerging that O’Brien will be offered another contract to take him until the end of 2026 and although the Knights are unlikely to be in a bidding war for his services anytime soon, he has earned a new deal.
Eyebrows were raised when they let their player of the year winner David Klemmer walk to join the Wests Tigers and they stumbled upon their first-choice playmaker almost by accident.
They had been agitating for Wests to release Luke Brooks but when the NRL’s most short-sighted club opted to show Jackson Hastings the door instead, the Knights signed the on-field organiser they’d lacked since Mitchell Pearce said au revoir for France at the end of 2021.
Although journeyman Adam Clune has done a serviceable job filling in for Hastings in recent weeks, his absence this weekend is substantial.
Like his coach, Hastings has taken a while to find his niche by playing to his strengths rather than trying to be a superstar.
The Knights already have one of those in Kalyn Ponga and since the skipper has returned from five-eighth to fullback, he’s given them the touch of class in attack that they needed.
If he was wearing a green jersey last Sunday, the Raiders would have won.
Ponga has been the difference between a solid Knights side and one capable of knocking off not only the Storm but the Sharks and Rabbitohs during their late-season surge.
Kalyn Ponga celebrates a try. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)
If you disregard the nine matches he played as a Cowboy over two seasons, Ponga is in his sixth season as a fully-fledged first-grader at Newcastle and you can tell he is now finally in full command on the field.
He’s always been talented, never short of brilliance but up until this year, consistency has not been a friend of his.
Saturday’s match represents just the third time in his career since his debut in 2016 that he’s played 20 matches and his 21 try assists and 19 line breaks are both high watermarks for the 25-year-old marquee fullback.
O’Brien has got the best out of not only Hastings and Ponga but from the Knights players who have been around for at least three seasons, there are 10 all up who have never played better.
They’re all either in that sweet spot of having enough experience to be in tune with their game but not in the veteran class when injuries can reduce a player’s physical peak.
| Bradman Best | Fifth season | 69 matches |
| Dominic Young | Third season | 50 matches |
| Kalyn Ponga | Eighth season | 116 matches |
| Greg Marzhew | Third season | 46 matches |
| Jackson Hastings | Seventh (NRL) season | 85 matches |
| Tyson Gamble | Fifth season | 48 matches |
| Phoenix Crossland | Fifth season | 59 matches |
| Jacob Saifiti | Eighth season | 141 matches |
| Daniel Saifiti | Eighth season | 160 matches |
| Jack Hetherington | Seventh season | 69 matches |
And yes that last line of the table is correct – Jack Hetherington has played all 25 matches for Newcastle.
Apart from a couple of dopey sin-binnings for slapping opponents when provoked, he has not only not been suspended but been a valuable contributor to their pack.
For someone who had amassed only 43 appearances at three previous clubs across six seasons, that’s quite the turnaround.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Beagles weren't too bad without Tom at the end of the season. Missing about 4 front rowers as well. Learning to win without him might be a blessing for when he's back on board.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Time will tell how well the Knight go next year without their Try scoring machine.
Morshead
Roar Rookie
When things are bad the coach cops it and when they are good he gets the accolades - fair enough. Very happy for AOB. And not to move past this glorious long time coming time for Knights fans but next year will be his making I feel. They will be in everyone’s top 8 and probably 4. No surprises. The window is open and the breeze is picking up. If they go backwards then it would be telling. (I am already missing Dom Young). Another point to consider is his assistants. Brian McDermott joins this year as defensive coach. Apparently they have reworked their system and it shows - their starch and goal line D is finals worthy defence. He won four super league titles (count ‘em). NRL coaches get gigs here with much less silverware. I thought if they did let AOB go they should put him in. I hope they can keep him i that role for a while. Also high performance is much better this year. Their last three year have been pretty horrendous with injury. But on average they seem to be having less major injuries and less downtime per injury - which has to help a coach.
Morshead
Roar Rookie
Good point on blue collar and you’re right. Most top teams would be blue collar if you broke it down to effort. I guess in Newcastle parlance it means turning up and putting in – even if you don’t win, hitting hard and sticking, supporting your mates in a scrap, defending your line till exhaustion, getting your hands dirty. It’s not about being flash or a lair but sweat and grind. If you lose then you make the other team have to beat you, you don’t fall over in front of them. That sort of thing
Morshead
Roar Rookie
How did the Eagles go without Tom? Seibs might just want to rent for a while.
Morshead
Roar Rookie
Agree but A lot of teams would be also rans without their marquee player. Some are with their marquee player.
Morshead
Roar Rookie
The left side are doing okay.
Morshead
Roar Rookie
I felt Hastings was finding his rythym during their run. He makes the right pass option and as the left edge threat increased was running the ball more and keeping the defence honest. Got a few tries off that too as the defence was looking outside him. Kicks to to the corners well. Don’t know what he earns but probably fair value too. Agree on Gamble. Understated but reads the play pretty well and holds the line well in defence.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Credit where it’s due and AOB deserves credit for the Knights recent form. My hand goes up as one who criticised him, blaming the early season rut all as his fault. For all the talk about AOB moving Ponga to 5/8, I was surprised to see a report last week saying Ponga made the call to move positions rather than the coach. Ponga said he wanted to give No6 a go and AOB went with it. Glad for their sake it didn’t work out as we have seen some entertaining footy from the Newcastle lads. As for their chances against NZ, they’re obviously a good chance but the Warriors playing at home to a full house will give them an advantage. At this point in time I still haven’t tried to tip the winner.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
If you want to be critical of AOB for the Knights results then ou have to give him credit when those results are positive. That said. We'd all watched Kaylan Ponga play 100 games of first grade and to a person, everyone said he shouldn't play 5/8. And yet AOB persisted with running him at 5/8 all off season then played him there 6 times to start the season. They won 2 of those games but in one he was knocked out inside 2 minutes - the other was an ordinary high scoring game against the Titans. We all make mistakes, he should own that one. Especially since basically if Ponga wasn't playing the way he has been playing the last 3 months, he would probably be out of a job, not getting an extension. But while i have never liked his demenaour and find it hard to imagine ever buying into anything he says based on the tone and delivery, he has obviously got through to them in some way shape or form. So fair play.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah for sure… that’s partly why it takes a healthy dose of hindsight to make it look good
mushi
Roar Guru
One of the 7ths wasn't great though with a bad f/a that said. Unless you've got an obvious upgrade a familiar mediocre strategy with mediocre fitting parts is likely a better bet than an untried strategy with ill fitting parts
Stay-at-home-dad
Roar Rookie
Gotta agree, AOBs record hasn’t been all that bad over the years. Lately he’s had a lot of adversity off the field too, but he’s continued to turn up and coach - and along with the team, they’ve trusted their process, despite the results at the time, and are now reaping the rewards.
The Barry
Roar Guru
With hindsight the pressure that O’Brien was under was a bit over the top Four seasons in charge now with results of 7th, 7th, 14th and 5th I read something from a player (can’t remember who) a few weeks ago. Even though at Round 17 they were 14th they felt they’d been playing well and not had much luck They’d had four losses by four or less to the Panthers, Roosters, Broncos and Cowboys plus eight point losses to the Warriors and Panthers They’d only had one win within those margins Apparently they had an honesty session and decided to ‘trust the process’ would lead to a turnaround rather than change things up massively Pretty interesting Great example of a team where the whole is greater than the sun off its parts. Coach has to take a lot of credit when that’s happening
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Penrith got the Wahs out wide last week and all of the outside backs crossed last week for the Knights. It was 1-1 in regular season but Ponga played 6 in the loss and didn’t play at all in the win. Late offloads from Kiwi forwards AOB’s ulcer.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Exactly. Without him on fire the latest Super Coach is looking for another job.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
In terms of playing good NRL standard footy each week of the season, the Knights have turned it around in the second half of the season. Ponga is obviously an X factor player but he's missed plenty of footy for various reasons, yet the team as a whole has found ways to win and that's what O'Brien should take credit for. I'm unclear though, what "blue collar work ethic" the Knights have that other Clubs do not? I don't doubt they've got plenty of blue collar workers in their terrific supporter base, but the days of any Club having genuine claims to be blue collar, disappeared about the same time as Wests & Balmain merged.
Albo
Roar Rookie
But the current in form Ponga, is still the key ingredient that makes the Knights perform so well right now. Without him, they become also rans. With him, they are possible contenders, if they can get over the Warriors this weekend ?
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Knights pack has been good on paper for a long time but now the backs are good on paper as well as on the field. Ponga is on fire , the halves are going great , Best is playing SOO , Dom Young is elite and the other winger is busting tackles at will. It's been good to see and great for the comp and the fans. Gamble claims he's not all that skillful but he's got a bag full of tricks and takes plenty of the right options as well as having the pest factor and plenty of skill. He's done very well.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Early in the season I was firmly of the belief that Adam O'Brien would be the second coach sacked following Anthony Griffin's yet to be announced departure. I even agreed with that decision. But you can't argue with results, the attitude within the Knights squad, the momentum that 10 straight wins can bring and their connection with their loyal fans. My only question is where are the points going to come from next year when Dominic Young takes his season leading 25 Try tally to the Roosters?