Storm wary of former assistant coach Adam O’Brien, the man who knows too much
Roosters assistant coach Adam O’Brien is far from a household name but the former Melbourne assistant is an NRL coach in waiting and could be the defending premiers secret weapon in the grand final rematch.
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He is the anonymous coach who knows too much.
Sydney Roosters assistant Adam O’Brien has secretly prompted Melbourne to rethink their tactics for Friday night’s top-of-the-table match at AAMI Park.
O’Brien spent 12 years working at Melbourne under supercoach Craig Bellamy before becoming Trent Robinson’s assistant at Bondi last year.
Aware of O’Brien’s knowledge about Melbourne, the Storm coaching staff has decided to change things up this week to nullify any ‘insider trading’. Subtle tweaks will also be made to Melbourne’s interchange bench.
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As one insider said: “They will look to do things just a little differently.”
O’Brien, a Melbourne Storm life member, knows Bellamy’s theories, strategies and philosophies - the challenge now is to still stop them.
Bellamy also knows his side’s playing style was largely ineffectual against the Roosters in last year’s grand final. This will be the first time O’Brien has returned to Melbourne as a Roosters assistant coach.
“At some point Adam will be an NRL head coach,” predicted Storm chief executive, Dave Donaghy. “They know each other very well. That’s from both ends – Adam knows Craig very well and, likewise, Craig knows Adam very well.”
It will also be the first time Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk has returned to Melbourne since leaving after 2017. The Roosters played Melbourne twice last year – once in Adelaide, the other on grand final day - but not at AAMI Park.
O’Brien has already been linked to several NRL head coaching positions but has remained solid to the Roosters.
“Adam was deservedly made a life member before he left in recognition of the contribution he made to our footy club over a long period of time across many roles,” said Donaghy.
“He started as an under 20 assistant coach to Brad Arthur and worked his way up to be Craig’s right-hand man. For a number of reasons, he decided to challenge himself elsewhere. It’s good to see him settle in Sydney and continue doing well with his coaching.
“Adam is salt of the earth and very passionate. He is incredibly intelligent from a footy sense and has had a successful career to date but, at some point, he will be an NRL head coach and will be very successful when he does take that next step.
“We will all be combatants on Friday night for 80 minutes but afterwards, like we do in footy, we’ll sit back and enjoy each other’s company.”
Roosters legend and club ambassador Anthony Minichiello added: “From chatting to the boys, mate, they love him (O’Brien). From personal experience, he is a guy you want to have a chat, he brings you in, he’s a champion bloke.
O’Brien did not want to be interviewed this week but did speak openly just last year in the Roosters website.
“The club has been great,” he said. “My previous club, Melbourne, I had been there for 12 years so this is the first time I had been at another club but I am full of praise.
“There is a real closeness among the staff, not only the football staff but also the administration staff. There is a good feel when you walk into the club each day.”
The Roosters travelled to Melbourne on Thursday to prepare for the game, which is expected to pull a crowd of around 20,000. Sydney will play host to two matches over Easter which should both attract 30,000 fans.
The opening of Bankwest Stadium on Monday will be a sellout while the Canterbury-South Sydney game at ANZ Stadium Friday afternoon could also entice a crowd of around 30,000 people.