“It didn’t come to me, so that in itself probably says that I don’t know how much was there or what wasn’t there,” O’Brien said. “I didn’t get to make a decision. Whether it stopped from David’s end, or it was just a query. I think he’s dead and buried at this point.”
The Knights have been in freefall with increased pressure on O’Brien to avoid becoming the fourth coach fired before the season ends.
Meanwhile, Jake Arthur returns to the halves for Parramatta with Mitchell Moses sidelined for up to a month with a half-broken finger.
The manager’s son was the subject of boos when his name was read out on the big screen at CommBank Stadium a fortnight ago, but has been backed by his teammates to deal with what is happening to him.
“He’s played there [in the halves] before, he’s a very good defender and a competitor and that’s what we like about him,” Eels hooker Reed Mahoney said.
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Stephen Crichton has been named in the Penrith centers ahead of Saturday’s clash against Canberra but will sit out the kick-off to ensure his left ear, which underwent emergency plastic surgery last week past, there is no risk of breakage.
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