The Newcastle Knights now appear ready to part ways with underperforming coach Adam O’Brien, with club bosses preparing to pay the team’s helmsman to leave at the end of the 2025 season.
The only thing that may save O’Brien’s career at the Knights now is another 10-in-a-row surge into finals contention, like when a returning Kalyn Ponga inspired his team to an undefeated run in 2023.
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With Ponga sidelined with a Lisfranc injury and the Knights not looking likely to bounce back any time soon, the decision to boot O’Brien seems all but a certainty in the Hunter now — a decision many Newcastle fans will welcome considering the 47-year-old has achieved very little in the six years he’s held the Knights coaching position.
The move will definitely cost Newcastle (or rather, owners The Wests Group) a fair bit of coin after O’Brien triggered a two-year extension to 2027 by finishing in the top 12 last season. (They lost to the Cowboys in week one of finals.)
With Newcastle now embroiled in a spoon battle and looking among the worst in the comp, the axe is ready to fall.
The question will now turn to who steps in to replace O’Brien in 2026.
Internally, Blake Green is favoured; the playing group are big fans of the attacking coach.
The Sporting Base has also heard that informal calls have been made to Josh Hannay’s agent. The Queensland assistant coach has been looking for a head coaching job in the NRL for some time now, though he’s been apprehensive about what position he takes. Considering the Knights’ recent struggles, he may not be eager to test his mettle there.
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Leeds boss Brad Arthur is another option being considered in the Hunter, especially considering he has got the best out of Dylan Brown in the past and is currently looking for a way back to Australia.
