How new Knights boss Adam O’Brien got the Knights in tune
Learn about Adam O’Brien’s differing coaching techniques as the new Knights coach reveals the details of his first pre-season in charge.
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Adam O’Brien is acting as a makeshift DJ for his Newcastle team. The portable speakers are booming throughout the training fields at Tamworth — belting out a wide array of tunes from country and western to Midnight Oil, and even a bit of Daryl Braithwaite’s Horses.
“There are times when we won’t provide music at all and they have to find their own way to motivate themselves,” O’Brien said.
“Other times it shows a lighter side and if it gets our energy up and they like it. It’s not always my phone.”
O’Brien even gets to learn a little more about each player with their song choices.
“Some blokes, they have love songs,” O’Brien said. “It’s only the gangster rap and the swearing that I race to turn off. We train in a residential area.”
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A lot has changed at the Knights since the no-fuss O’Brien jumped on a train from Central Station to start his career at Newcastle just days after assisting the Roosters to the premiership.
The meticulous planner comes to each session armed with mini-whiteboards that he and his assistants rush on and off the field. They detail everything from visuals of the next training drill to the groups players will be in.
“Everything is fast,” O’Brien said. “I don’t like too much transition and standing-around time. The game doesn’t allow it.
“The game is a transition game. At the end of six tackles, you don’t get to stand around at shoot the breeze. I’m trying to reflect that at training.
“The whiteboards are an important part of flow and making sure we’re getting in the flow.”
The players had a small gift waiting for them on pre-season’s opening day. It showed new recruit Jayden Brailey how different O’Brien’s style is from what he left behind at the Cronulla Sharks.
“Day one, we walked into our lockers and we had our name on a notebook,” Brailey said. “Every video session, we go in and take notes. It helps with what Adam wants.”
O’Brien said he is content with where his Knights are as they finish for the Christmas break on Saturday — but there’s a way to go.
“If you had said (before I arrived) where we have got to in the first six weeks, I’d be happy,” O’Brien said. “We are nowhere near where we have to get to, but we’ve got a group that is coming in and working hard and hasn’t complained.
“The physicality of the players at the moment is at a level I’m really happy with. You can see in the heat, when you’ve added fatigue and they haven’t slept well, you get a little window into their character.
“I don’t have to wait until the pressure of the game to know how a couple of guys will react.
“I saw that a bit of push and shove and (some of them went) straight to negative swearing. Which is great because it lets us learn straight away.”
Originally published as How new Knights boss Adam O’Brien got the Knights in tune