Knights urged to make tough $2m call after embarrassing defeat to Gold Coast Titans

The Knights have been urged to make a tough $2m call after their season went from bad to worse on Friday night, in what can only be described as a horror show.

The Knights turned in one of their worst performances of the last decade as they conceded 24 straight points to lose 24-20 to the languishing Titans on Friday night.

Having not bagged a win since besting the Roosters 30-12 in Round 4, underfire Des Hasler got a much-needed win.

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But after the full-time whistle, it was his coaching compatriot who found himself under immense pressure as Knights fans called for Adam O’Brien to be sacked immediately.

Despite the Knights playing finals footy in four of the past five seasons, there is a growing sense that O’Brien is not the man to bring an elusive premiership to Newcastle.

And while Newcastle’s attacking struggles have been well highlighted in the early season, the overall lack of structure and creativity from a team full of attacking juggernauts is deeply troubling, and it has many feeling the Knights need to bite the bullet and sack him at whatever cost.

Knights fans are demanding change after the latest horror show. Image: Kayo

However, the problem is O’Brien’s contract runs until the end of 2027 and written into his deal is that if he is axed he will get a full payout of around $2 million.

But after a complete horror show against the Titans and a sense that the Knights are continuing to trend in the wrong direction, fans are calling for O’Brien’s head.

“Knights getting booed off their own field after pissing away a lead & conceding 18 straight points to lose. Not sure how Adam O’Brien survives this. Their attacking structure is non-existent. Their players look out of belief,” one fan wrote on X.

“Adam O’Brien surely gets the sack this week,” another said.

“Adam O’Brien must be walking one hell of a tightrope,” a third added.

O’Brien touched on the disappearance of the lead after the game, and the under-fire coach didn’t miss in his analysis.

“It’s not a good habit to get in, getting ahead of ourselves after one game, and I’m not saying it’s everybody that did that, but when we get into a good lead, and then fell into a hole at the backend of the first-half and beginning of the second,” O’Brien said in his post-match press conference.

“It’s embarrassing really.”

It’s the first time this season the Knights have scored 20+ points and lost, and there’s a key component to the compounding losses according to O’Brien.

“I was never concerned when we had the forwards. We had them for the Dolphins game, we scored 26, next game we had them was the Souths game, we scored 30.

“The errors are coming from out wide. The outside backs are making all the errors and it’s costing our middle a little bit.”

The Knights are now 3-6 in 2025.

- with NewsWire

Originally published as Knights urged to make tough $2m call after embarrassing defeat to Gold Coast Titans