Paul Kent has warned Newcastle might threat “blowing up” its season if it places a timeline on Adam O’Brien’s tenure, ought to the membership wrestle within the early rounds of its 2023 marketing campaign.
The Knights are broadly tipped to overlook out on a spot within the high eight as soon as once more this yr, though O’Brien’s aspect have a beneficial draw on paper to open the season.
Newcastle performs the Warriors (twice), Tigers, Dolphins, Raiders and Sea Eagles within the first six weeks and can be thought of an honest probability of profitable no less than half of these video games.
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Phil Rothfield revealed late final yr that O’Brien had informed him he could have “six to eight weeks” at the beginning of this season to save lots of his job.
“I spoke to Adam O’Brien this morning, he asked me ‘how are the punters seeing it from outside’,” Rothfield mentioned on NRL 360.
“I said I think everyone is happy that you are safe for the rest of the year, I then said I think you have six to eight weeks at the start of next year.
“He agreed, 100 per cent he agreed.”
Should the Knights additionally take that method although, Kent cautioned it might shortly blow up of their face.
“They used to say it publicly back in the day, now they say it privately to us,” Kent mentioned on NRL 360 on Wednesday.
“It’s the worst thing you can ever do because the minute you do that, all you are saying to the coach is, ‘Front-load your season, if some guy needs six weeks off, get him back in form because you need him back more than he needs to stay healthy for the rest of the season’.
“It’s one of the dumbest things you can do, to put a time limit on a coach to show something because it’ll blow their season up.”
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It is why it’s much more essential that the Knights jag a number of early wins to start out the season or threat the strain intensifying on O’Brien and the membership as an entire.
“The concern for the Knights is if they don’t win some of these games we’re saying have been dealt to them as a relatively soft draw, the noise gets louder and louder and the blowtorch gets hotter and hotter,” James Hooper mentioned.
“There will be headlines everyday.”
But Kent leapt to O’Brien’s defence, suggesting whereas he could also be a part of the issue at Newcastle there have been different exterior elements which have additionally led to the staff’s struggles.
“I think Adam O’Brien is a good coach,” Kent mentioned.
“I just don’t think he’s had complete control of the roster like he needed to have at various times. I think there’s been a few problems there as far as their recruitment goes.
“I don’t think they’ve really got the side he wants to coach, but it’s slowly getting there. But he’s clearly under pressure, Anthony Griffin is under pressure.
“It’s the usual suspects. It’s the same guys every year and inevitably one or two will end up going. They have to jump on the start of this season.”
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Much of Newcastle’s success this yr will hinge on how Kalyn Ponga handles the transfer to the halves, with Braith Anasta involved the membership will compelled to “restart” once more if the swap falls flat.
“The pressure is on because if Kalyn doesn’t make a success of six, then they have to restart,” he mentioned.
“He has to go back to fullback and start again. They’ve had to do that so much over the past few years.”
It shouldn’t be all doom and gloom within the Hunter although in keeping with The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis, who really has tipped the Knights to sneak into the highest eight this yr.
Quite a lot of that comes again to the signing of former Tigers playmaker Jackson Hastings, with Carayannis arguing he’ll ease the strain on Ponga to contribute at a excessive degree immediately.
“Last year they started round one with Kalyn Ponga at fullback, Clifford, Clune and Randall,” Carayannis mentioned.
“[It was] probably the worst spine in the competition. Only one of those players are playing on the weekend for Newcastle. Now you’ve got Miller, Ponga, Hastings and Jayden Brailey. “You throw in the Saifiti brothers, Tyson Frizell and off the bench you’ve got Adam Elliott and Jack Hetherington, I think it’s a well-balanced roster.
“Whether they can get it right is all going to come down to the six and seven and it’s all going to rest on Kalyn Ponga’s hands. I like them much better with Jackson Hastings at seven than I would have done if they signed Luke Brooks because Hastings is that controlling half. He’s going to run the show and free Kalyn up.”
Carayannis additionally described Brailey, who tore his ACL in his first yr on the membership, as “the most underrated player in the competition” whereas pointing in direction of the Saifiti brothers as one other key to Newcastle’s destiny this season.
“The two Saifitis, they didn’t go to the World Cup at the back-end of last year to focus on what they need to do at Newcastle,” he added.
“Jacob was outstanding last year, Daniel was really good two or three years ago. So, if they can recapture that and get back to their best and play off the back of that with Jayden Brailey having a full season under his belt, I think he’s the most underrated player in the competition.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
