Knights manager Adam O’Brien has reportedly admitted the club’s 2022 campaign is over, putting a timetable on his own tenure as the man to lead Newcastle.
The Knights have struggled this season, registering just five wins from 19 games, with pressure mounting on the Hunter men to turn their fortunes around.
O’Brien’s future as the club’s head coach has come firmly under the spotlight, with the 44-year-old now admitting he may have “six to eight weeks” at the start of the 2023 season to save his job.
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“I spoke to Adam O’Brien this morning, he asked me ‘how do punters see it from the outside’,” the Daily Telegraph’s Buzz Rothfield told NRL360.
“I said I think everybody’s happy you’re safe for the rest of the year, then I said I think you’ve got six to eight weeks early next year.
“He agreed, 100% agreed.”
But NRL360 co-host Paul Kent disagreed and questioned why the club would go for a coach who has failed to live up to expectations in 2022.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have signed Peter Parr as director of football, handing over control of the Knights’ football operations.
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Kent believes Parr will be unwilling to gamble at the start of next season as starting each year strongly is crucial to a top eight finish.
“If that’s the case, I’d cut it short now, Peter Parr has now joined the club, why would Newcastle bet early next year?” Kent asked.
“If you play the first six to eight weeks of next year, then it’s all over.”
“What he says is that this season is over, what he says is that the patience and loyalty he expects from the board will continue for six to eight weeks next year,” Rothfield said.
NRL360 host Braith Anasta compared O’Brien’s situation to that of Titans coach Justin Holbrook, who is also facing the ax after a tumultuous 2022 campaign.
Both made the decision to drop experienced halfbacks in Mitchell Pearce and Jamal Fogarty, and both are paying the price.
“The start of next year is everything for both coaches,” Anasta said.
“The six weeks to start next year will be everything.”
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“Half-back Mitchell Pearce took them to the final two years in a row and he walked,” added Rothfield.
Meanwhile, O’Brien was criticized for referencing his resume as an assistant after the club’s poor performance against the Bulldogs.
O’Brien worked with Craig Bellamy during a successful spell for the Melbourne Storm, explaining he knows how to win prizes.
“Before I got this job here, I was in four grand finals,” O’Brien said.
“I know how these teams prepared. I know the systems they used defensively.
“You don’t unlearn that knowledge. Applying it and incorporating it will be kind of clear.”
Kent criticized O’Brien’s claims, explaining that there is a big difference between watching someone else teach a system and implementing it on your own team.
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“If Adam O’Brien had his chance again, he would have shut up and said nothing,” Kent said.
“And what he said there is irrelevant because it doesn’t matter if you saw it … you have to start being the head coach and make decisions.
“There’s a big difference between being an assistant and a head coach, knowing what it looks like doesn’t mean you can teach it.
“Everybody just looks at what everybody’s doing, okay, we’re going to start coaching it.
“We talked about it earlier this year when Trent Barrett was trying to integrate Penrith’s style of attack at Canterbury.
“They’re two different playgroups, and sometimes you can’t sit down and teach a fifth grader four units of math, you have to take the steps to get there.”