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He boldly declared in the Newcastle Herald in August that the Knights were capable of winning two premierships in the next five years. <\/p>\n
Really? That was the common reaction I heard from most people to those comments from O\u2019Sullivan. <\/p>\n
It even surprised me. But that didn\u2019t mean I doubted the man. Far from it. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s seen it before, and when he says something like that you have to listen. <\/p>\n
Now, against all odds, the Knights are one win away from a premiership and it has been so incredible to be a part of it and inside these four walls to witness every moment of it. <\/p>\n
And if the Knights do lift the Provan Summons Trophy on Sunday night, Newcastle fans should be thanking O\u2019Sullivan for the role he played in getting them there.<\/p>\n
He has been an incredible signing for the club. <\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan or \u2018Sully\u2019 as we know him, has been at the Knights for just over two years now. That is important to remember.<\/p>\n
Why? Because in that time, only a certain amount of roster spots present themselves. <\/p>\n
When you\u2019ve got an elite player like Kalyn Ponga, you\u2019ve got to be able to capitalise on his prime years. You have to seize the moment and make sure he\u2019s supported with a team and a coaching staff that can really elevate the overall team performance. <\/p>\n
That is what Sully has done. <\/p>\n
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Bedsy on why the Knights can win the GF! | 01:54<\/p>\n He\u2019s done so much with the pathways and junior recruitment and so much that nobody has seen yet. <\/p>\n But I\u2019ve seen it first-hand.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen how strategic he has been in the players that he\u2019s signed. <\/p>\n There are two types of people that do recruitment. There are team builders and there are people who just sign talent. <\/p>\n I feel like Sully\u2019s a real team builder. <\/p>\n He recognised that we weren\u2019t getting a lot of linebreaks out of dummy-half. So he goes and signs Harrison Graham. Then he is able to get that rotation going with Phoenix Crossland moving back to lock and then as a year went on, Graham started to be really creative around the middle of the ruck. <\/p>\n He was able to identify Francis Manuleleua as a young emerging back row and pulled him out of Penrith, having also had experience with him at the Warriors as a player. <\/p>\n Manuleleua has since emerged as a rising star in the game. <\/p>\n Not only that, he recognised that a player like Cody Hopwood needed to play against older players when he was 19 years old and exposed him to play in reserve grade really young.<\/p>\n The result? <\/p>\n MORE NRL GF NEWS<\/p>\n TALKING PTS: $40k proof of big Knights advantage; mistake Roosters can\u2019t repeat<\/a><\/p>\n CRAWLS: Why one of the worst calls in history may be death knell for \u2018hard a***\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Pictured is NRL recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan. Pic: Twitter.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n He\u2019s been able to carry a fair workload and a massive responsibility of starting in first grade in the semi-finals and now the grand final. <\/p>\n And what about Sandon Smith?<\/p>\n Initially the thought was being more creative around the ruck whether it\u2019s line breaks or try assists and Sully thought that Sandon could play a role there.<\/p>\n Sandon started in the halves due to injuries then moved back to the bench but now he\u2019s emerged again at seven. He\u2019s played the best games he\u2019s played in his life ever. <\/p>\n There are more unsung heroes. Take a guy like Lachlan Crouch.<\/p>\n Again, O\u2019Sullivan didn\u2019t necessarily just see talent. He saw that we needed some young emerging middles that can play long minutes and that can be counted upon to not make errors and not give penalties away and hold their gloves up. <\/p>\n That is Lachlan Crouch to a tee.<\/p>\n All this change and Sully has only had a bit over two years to do it. <\/p>\n He hasn\u2019t had a lot of opportunities or a lot of spots become available for him to sign players and most players are on two to three year deals.<\/p>\n But the decisions that he\u2019s been able to make have compounded and elevated the players around them and then with a new coach in Justin Holbrook that\u2019s come in I feel like it\u2019s just all complimented each other. <\/p>\n ULTIMATE GUIDE: Stunning GF locked in after Knights book Roosters showdown<\/a><\/p>\n Grand Final FEVER takes over Newcastle | 03:07<\/p>\n While the club\u2019s sudden success may come as a surprise to some, it isn\u2019t to those who know Peter O\u2019Sullivan like I know him.<\/p>\n He was the one who got me back at Newcastle after I left in 2022 to study psychology for three years at university. <\/p>\n After I was finished there I had a few clubs interested but when the Knights and Sully came knocking I knew where I needed to go. <\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the first time Sully had tried to sign me either. He first spotted me all the way back when I was 15 years old. <\/p>\n That\u2019s nearly two decades that I\u2019ve known him and from there we have able to build a strong relationship and friendship.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been able to get a front row suit to his rugby league genius.<\/p>\n When I had time away from the game maybe six or eight years ago, I used to sit down and watch the footy when Nathan Brown was a coach of the Knights then I saw how highly Nathan thought of Sully.<\/p>\n Then I saw just how Sully saw the game differently. <\/p>\n How?<\/p>\n MORE NRL GF NEWS<\/p>\n \u2018NOT FOR ME\u2019: This jersey terrified Roosters star. Now he\u2019ll wear it in a GF<\/a><\/p>\n