‘It’s embarrassing’: Knights slammed for ‘disrespectful’ O’Brien move as major question emerges
With Knights officials reportedly meeting with prospective coaches in recent weeks, a big question has emerged: can Adam O’Brien win Newcastle a premiership?
Following the Knights’ stunning victory over the Storm, a team official reportedly met with sacked Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
Newcastle executives have also met with Michael Maguire, Paul McGregor, and Des Hasler, according to Fox League’s James Hooper.
According to reports, Knights CEO Phil Gardner wants to limit the influence of controversial player manager Isaac Moses at the club. This puts O’Brien in an awkward position.
While four of Moses’ players are expected to leave the club at the end of the year, Moses also manages O’Brien, and league legend Gorden Tallis posed the important question.
“Can Adam O’Brien win them a grand final? Tallis asked on NRL360, “That’s the question you have to ask as a board member; that’s how your club is judged.”
“I’m not prepared to say O’Brien can’t win a grand final; I believe he has done an excellent job,” The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield said.
“Right now, they’re playing better than they have in ten years, when Wayne
“They are a serious football team that can beat anyone; they took Penrith to Golden Point, don’t forget.”
Brent Read of The Daily Telegraph slammed Newcastle’s meeting with over coaches, questioning why O’Brien was unaware of the Holbrook meeting if the former Titans boss was being considered for an assistant position.
“I think it’s disrespectful to Adam, because I believe he’s getting as much out of that football team as anyone,” Read stated.
“You stack that footy team, that squad, next to Penrith and Brisbane, and it is an inferior squad.
“If Adam O’Brien is the head coach and they are only talking about Holbrook being in the system, they should have included O’Brien in the conversation.
“Surely he deserves to have some say in the structure of his coaching staff.”
Read also indicated that if the Knights do not extend O’Brien’s contract beyond the 2024 season, it will be due to the club’s leadership rather than his performance.
“If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate because he has done an excellent job, and if he becomes collateral damage in some power struggle, that football club has problems that go beyond the coach,” Read stated.
“That football club has massive problems with the way it’s run, and given that they’re meeting coaches on the sly, what coach would want to work there?
“What coach would want to coach there if they couldn’t trust the people running the show to be honest with them?
“Why would you want to go coach there if that’s happening? It’s embarrassing; this is a football club on the verge of making the top eight.
“All we’re talking about is how club members are going behind people’s backs to speak with other coaches.”
NRL360 host Braith Anasta then asked if Newcastle would resolve the issue before the start of the 2024 season to provide clarity for the Knights squad.
“You do not want this to continue; you must make a decision. “You simply cannot have this question mark for an extended period of time,” Anasta explained.
“What happens in the early rounds of the competition will be the entire focus of that town,” Rothfield said.
“If he makes the eight, Braith should get at least another year, which is on top of what he already has for next year,” Read added.