NRL 2021: Inside story on how the Newcastle Knights landed Tyson Frizell

Knights coach Adam O’Brien knew he had the right man when he met Origin star Tyson Frizell to talk about leaving the Dragons and joining Newcastle. And the back-rower hasn’t let him down.

Tyson Frizell. Picture: Tim Hunter.

There was no fanfare. No fancy dinner. Not even a tour of the region. It may be the lowest key big-name signing in Newcastle’s history.

In his customary black-boot wearing ways, Tyson Frizell was only worried about one thing when he spoke with the Knights. Football.

“I don’t need to see the beaches,” Frizell told Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien, chief executive Philip Gardner and recruitment manager Alex McKinnon in a meeting early last year.

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Instead O’Brien, armed with a laptop, tried to entice his first Kangaroos and NSW player to the club during his time as a head coach.

“It wasn’t a big wine and dine,” O’Brien said. “It was a blue-collar meeting. He just wanted a meeting at the club. We looked at some stats and vision of his game.

Tyson Frizell with his wife Sammy and kids Easton (seven months) and Axton (2). Picture: Tim Hunter

“I presented some stats to him with areas we liked and some stuff we could do for him. He liked that it wasn’t just about patting him on the back.

“The focus was around some defensive stuff. The people we could put around him and help him. How we could use him in more areas in attack.

“There is no doubt the change of scenery was part of his process.”

Frizell made the return trip from his Sutherland Shire home and was left with plenty to ponder. The meeting remained a secret.

The negotiations with the Knights were brief. It was their only face-to-face meeting and Newcastle made just one offer and let Frizell sit with it.

“Guys like Tyson wanting to chase a premiership and joining us to do so, showed players from outside were looking in thinking that it’s a good environment to be in,” O’Brien said.

It has just ticked over a year since Frizell stunned the Dragons by accepting a three-year offer at Newcastle.

Frizell wanted to make a decision before the start of the season but couldn’t.

He said that changed during the COVID break.

“It wasn’t an easy thing,” Frizell said. “It was tough to come to the decision and it’s not easy leaving a place you’ve been at for so long. You have done everything for that club and having to move on was tough but I’m happy and comfortable.

“There was a lot of umming and ahhing. I had a lot of discussions with my wife and the people closest to me and they told me what I needed to hear.

“The COVID break gave me a lot of time to think. I put a lot of pressure on myself but the break let me think about what I wanted to do.”

The Dragons were in a downward spiral when Frizell opted out. He doesn’t know if the eventual changes being made sooner would he have altered his decision.

Tyson Frizell agonised over his decision to leave the Dragons and join the Knights. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

What he does know, though, is that O’Brien has long admired Frizell from afar.

He watched his combination with former Dragons skipper Gareth Widdop flourish and felt he could replicate that at Newcastle.

“He had a great season alongside Widdop where they used him on good shapes and he got a little bit more strike ball,” O’Brien said. “They had a good thing going. I knew if we put him next to Mitchell (Pearce) they would have a good combination.

“He relishes the tough stuff but everyone likes to be included in some of the good ball opportunities. He has been enormous for us in terms of not just making the tough carries.

“He has skill and can pass the footy. I knew we were going to get a guy who was going to prepare very well. I knew he was going to train well and that was important for me.

“He comes in and does video with the assistants, he doesn’t want smoke blown – he just wants to know what he can do better.

“When you have your most experienced guy doing that every single day to get better and hungry to look at vision and ways to improve his game, he nearly pays for himself in that alone.”

Tyson Frizell has made an immediate at Newcastle. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Frizell knows he arrived to Newcastle with lofty expectations. A region craving success finally had a taste of it last year when the Knights finished in the top eight.

He laughs before offering “I’m not buying into that” when asked which Dragon he is looking to face most when he plays his former club for the first time on Sunday.

The gentle demeanour is something that has resonated with the Newcastle faithful, according to O’Brien.

“If you look at him from a distance you just think he is a beast,” O’Brien said.

“The partners love him. My wife loves him. Everyone has this assumption that he is this aggressive guy who talks in swear words but he is so articulate, so gentle and a good family man. He has so much humour about him.”

Frizell is hoping for the last laugh against his former club on Sunday.

Originally published as NRL 2021: Inside story on how the Newcastle Knights landed Tyson Frizell