Wrong tree. O'Brien has improved plenty of players turning them into good footy players. We still do not have any game breakers playing for the Knights, we are getting closer with Best Lucas Sharpe and Young in attack. Hopefully Brown will help and steer us around the paddock, seeing the gaps we need to attack. The defence is good and the whole team keeps trying, that in itself is a big jump from a few years ago. No you are wrong O'Brien is leading us in the right direction. It is easy to point a finger at just one person and make up stories to improve your stance. There is not a better coach at this stage to replace O'Brien, if we get to the top four in consecutive years and don't win a comp. We'll then your point might be right. With Pos coming on board and making a descent roster, we have got the best chance in two decades to win a comp and stay there for years.
NRL Round 19 - Knights Vs Storm - 3:00pm Saturday 12th July - McDonald Jones Stadium
- Thread starter Lefty
- Start date
Pretty difficult task, which teams have signed a new coach in recent years which has suddenly transformed the team into a contender? Bulldogs ... anyone else? Warriors for one season. Sharks, although I still say they haven't progressed much. Almost every coach signing has been a complete flop.
Not saying we don't need a change, but odds are we'll end up with a no better or worse option. The way some people talk you'd think we'll sign a new coach, unicorns will fly in and lift us into the top four and the resultant planet Earth glow up will result in world peace, all before lunchtime.
Lefty
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
AOB has demonstrated that he is unable to get the best results from the players we have, Ponga’s performance this year is an example of this.
I don’t want the Knights to just be making up the numbers in the competition with AOB as coach year after year. Management should be trying to get us in a position where we can actually compete to win a premiership and one of the things they need to do to achieve that goal is to change the coach.
I believe if we gave someone fresh like John Morris sufficient time he would do a much better job of coaching the team than the current coach.
I don’t want the Knights to just be making up the numbers in the competition with AOB as coach year after year. Management should be trying to get us in a position where we can actually compete to win a premiership and one of the things they need to do to achieve that goal is to change the coach.
I believe if we gave someone fresh like John Morris sufficient time he would do a much better job of coaching the team than the current coach.
Perennial candidate Josh Hannay is in the frame at the Titans, as is Brad Arthur, who had success at the Eels, but arguably bore a lot of responsibility when their roster ended in a mess, apparently having much more say over the Eels' recruitment/retention than AOB does at the Knights. *
Point being that if the Knights do shift on AOB (at great expense), as James points out, we'll pretty much be looking at the same candidates, giving another rookie a shot or a failed coach a chance at redemption. It's as likely to miss as hit.
* I agree with Kenty on this, coaches should have a voice, but recruitment and retention should be otherwise independent as they are about the long-term prospects of a club and coaches, particularly ones under pressure, only think about the short term.
Point being that if the Knights do shift on AOB (at great expense), as James points out, we'll pretty much be looking at the same candidates, giving another rookie a shot or a failed coach a chance at redemption. It's as likely to miss as hit.
* I agree with Kenty on this, coaches should have a voice, but recruitment and retention should be otherwise independent as they are about the long-term prospects of a club and coaches, particularly ones under pressure, only think about the short term.
If we do replace him, the choice of replacement will be one of the most important decisions in the club’s history, imo.
slotmachine
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
We're not going to be any good in 2026 and AOB done a pretty decent job bringing on young players, don't see any reason to sack him now other than if say a Trent Robinson becomes available.
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EddieC
Michael McKeirnan
I see him here till the end. The board seem to be invested here (or don’t have the money to pay him out and bring on a new one).
Moving forward I see us needing a coach who invests in not just the first 17 but oversees us as a whole club. Ricky Stuart knows each and every one of those players from junior reps to the captain of NRL. I watched him from the stand when he was in Newcastle and he acknowledged all his boys, was present watching the lower grades and everyone appeared equal. From what I have heard AOB has a lack of connection with our boys. We need someone who commands respect and guides the ship … not just stands on the deck.
Moving forward I see us needing a coach who invests in not just the first 17 but oversees us as a whole club. Ricky Stuart knows each and every one of those players from junior reps to the captain of NRL. I watched him from the stand when he was in Newcastle and he acknowledged all his boys, was present watching the lower grades and everyone appeared equal. From what I have heard AOB has a lack of connection with our boys. We need someone who commands respect and guides the ship … not just stands on the deck.
I wonder if we'll see clubs employ an overarching club coach at some stage? I think it would have some real benefits. Getting back to what we were talking about on here a month or two ago, in the early days of the Knights when the likes of David Waite had the entire club training and skills work all feeding into the same systems and structures. So when players reached first grade, they were really prepared and could slot straight in.
I think that sort of thing would still have huge benefits today. Maybe it still happens to some degree, but I don't know which role would be responsible. It would almost sit alongside the Peter Parr/Director of Football role, but which much more of a focus on coaching and on-field tactics.
I think O'Brien has done a great job enhancing the abilities of the young players coming through with the senior player's having great repect for him. Pongas performance relies on Ponga not O'Brien, uninjured the first two games this season been injured ever since. Some people just don't have the body to stay long in the top grade. We need a good half to lead the team around. Ponga is not that person he can't cope. We are on the way up and it is through O'Brien's coaching that we are.
KPGreatness
Ben Donaldson
We wont win a title with AOB as head coach I’d put money on that
Lefty
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
I’ll respond to on this claim at the end of this season. We would need to finish better than 8th to be on the way up.
Yep it's easy to see Ricky cares for his players & they are playing for him. Really haven't seen the lack of connection to the squad with Obi . At times he has prob been too loyal !
slotmachine
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Probably not, but we're miles away from that being an issue at the moment.
So which coach is going to get us that title? And would you put money on that ?
KPGreatness
Ben Donaldson
Weird one since that wasn’t the answer I gave…So which coach is going to get us that title? And would you put money on that ?
Look you guys can keep being scared of shadows and not taking a leap of faith like a certain Bulldogs and Warriors did and keep thinking “oh no if we let O’brian go who will replace him” and continue in this cycle of uselessness and underachievement.
I never claimed I knew a coach that can do better which makes your comment weird but to act like no other coach in the world can’t do better is naivety at its best, while I’m aware others can do worse that is professional sport, so you can hide behind the fragile vail of “who will we get” all you want, it is a meaningless argument as you’ll never know who will bring success without taking that leap first. Or you can keep waiting and waiting for that great coach that will do nothing but bring us success and will never fail a golden goose if you will but unfortunately those don’t exist.
So I ask you a question do you think AOB will make us a success? If the answer is anything but yes than why keep him around?.
6 years - no grand finals, past the first round of the finals once and now looking like we are going backwards and struggling to catch up.
this club has been a failure for so long fans are just happy with this “achievement” of just not coming last and are scared to move on from they guy that got them their but can’t take them further we are in a sense of limbo don’t want to go back but don’t want to take the risks needed to move forward.
It comes across as rather insecure that you feel the need to insult and belittle those that don't agree with you. And it's not really what we're about on this forum.
Kurriboy
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
You sound like Donald Trump, Make Newcastle Great Again.
Remember Trump saying he was going to end the Ukraine war with 1 phone call lol. It's still going Donald!
Anyway, I never have said get rid of OB and we will be top 4 lock it in. Even with all our troops fit, he doesn't have us looking like a proper serious NRL team. He can get us defending but can't get us attacking. We don't look to be doing much of anything well (except defending, and thats got a * against it), it's taken half the year for him to get us throwing the ball around, I mean I don't get where his support comes from tbh.
In the NRL, you expect your team to compete with those around your level, struggle against the top 4 teams, and beat the wooden spoon level teams. He hasn't had us even competing with mid level teams reliably for most of his tenure. Typically if a team turns up against us, we fold.
There is clearly 2 thread of thought around the OB situation here on the forum:
1) Get rid of him, he is done, not going to see any better from him and it's clear he isn't able to take us to where we need to be going.
2) Keep him, either because there is no-one better, or because he is taking us in the right direction, not had the cattle, and injuries.
Personally my position is clear, I don't see any point in persisting with him. I don't think it's great to keep him in case the next is worse, nor do I agree we shouldn't fire our coach, because other teams have done so and not won the premiership or suddenly top 4 team. That thinking leads to a decade of Mary McGregor.
Someone above said we don't have any strike players, Ponga, Best, Sharpe, even Lucas. The truth is, OB has not gotten anywhere near decent attacking form from the team to enable these strike players to actually strike. And another popular claim made on here is that other players don't need their team performing to have an impact, Teddy etc etc.
Those players, are playing in teams that are pulling their weight, performing at a decent level that allows those players to stand up individually. We are not.
