Limited-time offer ><\/a><\/p>\nThe Knights\u2019 centre of excellence was also finished in 2022.<\/p>\n
All of this is to say the Newcastle club has enjoyed a wholesale overhaul between now and the year O\u2019Brien arrived – but the new coach will reap the benefits.<\/p>\n
The Knights are an attractive prospect for potential coaching candidates, and a solid squad is only one factor to be considered for the reasons listed above.<\/p>\n
Marquee star Kalyn Ponga will be joined by Dylan Brown ahead of the 2026 season, then throw in the mix guns like Dylan Lucas, Dane Gagai, Bradman Best and Tyson Frizell.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s young stars Fletcher Sharpe, Jermain McEwen, Thomas Cant, Fletcher Hunt and many more that have shown they\u2019ve got first grade written all over them.<\/p>\n
No squad that welcomes a new coach is ever the finished product. They wouldn\u2019t be looking for a fresh mentor if they were.<\/p>\n
But with a new coach comes a fresh start, which will be as good as a holiday for the club\u2019s big-name stars.<\/p>\n
Adding to the club\u2019s credentials is Peter O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n
He is one of the NRL\u2019s sharpest recruitment minds, and you only have to look at his recent clubs to see his methods work.<\/p>\n
The Warriors and Dolphins have both had impressive seasons, and O\u2019Sullivan was instrumental in making sure those squads have depth.<\/p>\n
Knights coach Adam O\u2019Brien will leave his post at the end of the 2025 season.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
Kristian Woolf\u2019s side have been decimated this year with injuries, but are still in the mix for the finals in part due to O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s influence.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already began sourcing players to fill gaps, or the gaping voids left by the departures of Leo Thompson and Kai Pearce-Paul.<\/p>\n
He also was able to negotiate new deals for Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai, at a veteran\u2019s price, while letting other players depart.<\/p>\n
It was a tough call to sack their head coach, especially for O\u2019Brien who has helped the Knights punch above their weight in recent years.<\/p>\n
But with a club-wide facelift, a new figurehead at the forefront could be the final missing piece for Newcastle fans to finally enjoy a team that can compete for a title.<\/p>\n
So who could that coach be?<\/p>\n
I have one criteria when it comes to picking a new mentor \u2013 have you coached your own team?<\/p>\n
You wouldn\u2019t let someone behind the wheel of an expensive car if you haven\u2019t driven by yourself before, so why make someone a head coach in the NRL who has never experienced managing a team at any level.<\/p>\n
Kyle called out in ‘Flanno’s cleanout’ | 03:14<\/p>\n
Blake Green, who has been O\u2019Brien\u2019s assistant, has never managed his own squad, while Dean Young is another name who has been floated.<\/p>\n
But for me, Justin Holbrook is the obvious choice.<\/p>\n
Should he get the job, it\u2019d be a reunion of sorts after he played for the Knights in 1999 and 2000, being Andrew Johns\u2019 halves understudy.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more is his tenure at the Titans has been proven to be solid in hindsight, if you look at Des Hasler\u2019s struggles since taking over at the start of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
Holbrook took a Titans side, and one that\u2019s arguably not as strong as the current roster, to the finals in 2021 and were a Patrick Herbert pass way from beating the Roosters.<\/p>\n
He is also renowned as an analytical thinker and that could prove crucial in unlocking Brown as a halfback, who has only boosted his stocks with his current Eels situation.<\/p>\n
The multi-milliondollar recruit has a host of things in his personal life he is currently dealing with, which meant making an early move to Newcastle wasn\u2019t the right decision.<\/p>\n
He then lost his spot under Jason Ryles, but didn\u2019t kick stones and slotted into the centres when called upon.<\/p>\n
That attitude doesn\u2019t go unnoticed, especially for a Knights fan base that pride themselves on being hard working, no nonsense people.<\/p>\n
Holbrook will also have a clean slate with his playing group, which allows new leaders to step up and take charge in the Hunter.<\/p>\n
Players like Bradman Best, Dylan Lucas and Fletcher Sharpe could begin to shape the club how they want it, not how the leadership group under O\u2019Brien saw it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to discount the impact of leaders like Dane Gagai and Tyson Frizell, but new leaders have to emerge so there\u2019s no void left when they eventually depart.<\/p>\n
You only have to look as far as the Raiders to see how young players can have an impact.<\/p>\n
Ricky Stuart has been able to maintain his relationships with veterans, like Josh Papalii, and give them clear roles.<\/p>\n
Then young guns like Ethan Strange, Savelio Tamale, Kaeo Weekes and many more have been able to flourish and become leaders in their own right.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s just one puzzle to solve for the incoming coach.<\/p>\n
Overall, the Knights have put everything in place to make coaching the Newcastle powerhouse an interesting proposition.<\/p>\n
WHY DCE\u2019S ROOSTERS MOVE IS A BARGAIN<\/p>\n
You tell me another elite playmaker that is earning $500,000 per season?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the figure Daly Cherry-Evans is reportedly set to earn on his one-year deal to land at the Roosters, with a second year in his deal to move into the club\u2019s coaching ranks.<\/p>\n
NRL playmakers generally earn north of $700,000 and the best, like Cherry-Evans, are consistently million dollar players.<\/p>\n
So tell me how signing a man of Cherry-Evans\u2019 experience and stature in the game for a third of Kalyn Ponga\u2019s salary is a bad move?<\/p>\n
Raiders hit with “Unfair” finals burden | 02:04<\/p>\n
The Roosters this season have been solid and young guns like Hugo Savala, Salesi Foketi and Blake Steep have stood up.<\/p>\n
But the reality is, young players have a shelf life.<\/p>\n
Most players can\u2019t sustain a 27 round NRL season, having already competed so hard in the pre-season just to put themselves in the frame to play first grade.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t to say that Savala hasn\u2019t been great alongside Sam Walker, and their combination will only get better.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s desperately hard for Savala, in his rookie and sophomore NRL years, to play at an elite level that could steer the Roosters to a premiership.<\/p>\n
Cherry-Evans has been there, won that.<\/p>\n
His signing also proves to be more than just a reshaping of the Tricolours\u2019 halves \u2013 it also adds depth and we\u2019ve seen just how important that is across the competition this year.<\/p>\n
Savala will likely slot into the utility role, but he will almost certainly be called upon to start in the halves at some point in 2026.<\/p>\n
Look at the Broncos and the signing of Ben Hunt, another elite playmaker on top of Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam.<\/p>\n
That recruitment call has proved to be the best decision the club has made in recent years, considering what has happened to Michael Maguire\u2019s side on the injury front.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s saved their season.<\/p>\n
For $500,000 you get someone like Cherry-Evans whose role will be less demanding at the Roosters behind a talented forward pack, which I believe is considerably stronger than the Manly pack.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good signing and almost every NRL club would take that deal for a player of Cherry-Evans\u2019 stature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adam O\u2019Brien\u2019s time at the Knights is set to come to an end after this weekend \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[7189,18743,15901,48257,64,63,689,21686,18392,81203,4532,81212,81202,4430,4424,81200,10743,81207,81208,21683,4603,81206,19099,4594,10744,2105,4612,81205,5330,11402,81201,4556,81198,17340,72590,10749,779,7664,4419,81197,6407,81216,761,762,673,2613,10668,4495,81199,158,677,25294,81196,81214,11396,61787,7291,81213,4478,10742,81209,81217,85,80793,4465,81204,4573,81210,81211,3517,19121,29646,81215],"class_list":["post-114054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-adam-obrien","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-alex-mckinnon","tag-andrew-johns","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-hunt","tag-blake-green","tag-boarding-house","tag-canberra-raiders","tag-clear-coaching-candidate","tag-coaching-candidates","tag-daly-cherry-evans","tag-dane-gagai","tag-dollar-players","tag-dylan-lucas","tag-elite-level","tag-elite-playmaker","tag-ezra-mam","tag-final-game","tag-final-missing","tag-finals-campaign","tag-fletcher-hunt","tag-fletcher-sharpe","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast-titans","tag-halves-understudy","tag-head-coach","tag-hugo-savala","tag-interesting-proposition","tag-jason-ryles","tag-jermain-mcewen","tag-josh-papalii","tag-justin-holbrook","tag-knights-coach","tag-kristian-woolf","tag-kyle-flanagan","tag-leo-thompson","tag-methods-work","tag-michael-maguire","tag-multi-milliondollar-recruit","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-south-wales","tag-new-zealand-warriors","tag-newcastle","tag-newcastle-knights","tag-nonsense-people","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-one-year-deal","tag-pass-way","tag-patrick-herbert","tag-paul-crawley","tag-recruitment-call","tag-ricky-stuart","tag-roosters-move","tag-sam-walker","tag-scott-gardiner","tag-sharpest-recruitment-minds","tag-shelf-life","tag-sports","tag-starting-halfback","tag-thomas-cant","tag-titans-lodge","tag-tyson-frizell","tag-utility-role","tag-wests-group","tag-young-guns","tag-young-players","tag-young-stars","tag-youth-ranks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}