Adam O’Brien acknowledges Knights woes, insists Jackson Hastings is not the answer

In his most candid interview of the year, Knights coach Adam O’Brien reveals how he will fix the club’s pop-gun attack, the future of star captain Kalyn Ponga, overlooking Jackson Hastings and more.

Adam O’Brien says he won’t be pressured into axing players or ripping-up the Knights game plan as they aim to avoid a sixth-straight defeat.

The Knights coach refused to hide from the increasing pressure on him which has been amplified due to his side’s pop-gun attack that has been outscored 126-36 in their past five games.

O’Brien also addressed the ever-present speculation over the future of star captain Kalyn Ponga, the club’s signing of Dylan Brown, overlooking Jackson Hastings for first grade, interest in Roosters winger Dominic Young and the club’s desire for a ticket to Las Vegas 2026.

Positioned 15th on the NRL ladder, the Knights face a must win Magic Round clash against the Rabbitohs on Saturday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium.

Think you’re a sports fanatic? Take the test. Play daily trivia for FREE on CODE Sports. Sign up HERE

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 14: Newcastle coach Adam O'Brien looks on before the start of the NRL Qualifying Final match between North Queensland Cowboys and Newcastle Knights at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on September 14, 2024 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

ATTACKING WOES

Scoring just 72 points in attack this season, Newcastle must post at least 18 points against South Sydney to avoid recording their least amount of points through eight matches in their history.

The 1993 David Waite coached Knights hold the record for least amount of points through eight rounds with 89.

The crux of Newcastle’s offensive issues is that they are simply not holding the ball long enough to threaten teams. They boast the worst completion rate (72 per cent) in the NRL.

O’Brien is acutely aware of the lopsided figures and points to further factors.

“Injuries happen to every team,” O’Brien said.

“The problem we’ve had is that our injuries have really challenged our depth in one positional area. We’ve had up to eight players unavailable, but six of them have been forwards.

“That puts stress on your depth and requires you to play younger guys a lot earlier than we may have planned too.

The Knights sit 15th on the ladder heading into Magic Round. Picture: Getty Images

“We knew that Daniel (Saifiti) leaving (to The Dolphins) would leave a strain, but then with Jacob (Saifiti) injured, Adam Elliott injured and three of our backrowers going down injured or suspended through these early rounds, you’re not winning the middle third of the field, which when we are, allows us to open up space for Kalyn and Fletcher (Sharpe).

“Getting some depth back into our middle third of the field with experienced guys like Jacob and Adam coming into the team and Dylan (Lucas) will be better for the run, so just having those guys out there, you’re actually able to bend the line back a little bit so the defence isn’t always up in Kalyn’s face.

“That will make a huge difference to us.

“It might not be all fixed this week, but it’s definitely trending the right way in our training.

“The other thing is our discipline with the fundamentals and that’s the area that I think has hurt us the most.

“We’ve only been above 70 per cent completions in one game this season and that was when we beat the Dolphins.

“The rest of the time we’ve been well down on possession, not even close to an even share of the ball, which is all on us.

“We need to fix the fundamentals. We’re not running from that.‘’

Jacob Saifiti has not played since injuring himself in the second minute of round five. Picture: NRL Images

CHANGE ISN’T THE ANSWER

O’Brien has been criticised by fans and the press for churning through a carousel of halves over the past 12-months including Jack Cogger, Fletcher Sharpe, Jackson Hastings, Phoenix Crossland and Tyson Gamble.

In the midst of their current attacking woes, O’Brien finds it “contradictory” that there be commentary about making further changes to his halves ahead of the team’s clash with the Rabbitohs.

“Often, especially from the outside looking in, people think that it’s big changes, sacking people, dropping guys because they think that these areas (forward pack injuries and poor completion rates) aren’t remarkable enough,” O’Brien said.

“However, If we have a whole heap of focus on those smaller details it will have an atomic effect.

“It’s not necessarily about making wholesale changes. That might give us a short-term solution, but it’s not really fixing those areas that we need to fix.

“Making changes now is very contradictory to the narrative that was coming at me last year, when we were making changes because I had conversations with our halves about playing to a standard.

“This year, the only change I’ve made is due to Cogs (Cogger) having a fractured finger for Gamble to come in, who then suffered a facial fracture for Cogs to come back in.

“The thing is, Fletcher is going to be such a better player for having gone through this period. It’s just not nice to be going through it right now.

“There is a part of me that lies awake at night going, in the long-term the club will come out the other side of it.”

Jackson Hastings is being paid $800,000 per year to play NSW Cup. Picture: Getty Images

BATTLE OF HASTINGS

Jackson Hastings is the $800,000 millstone around the Knights’ neck.

The 29-year-old playmaker has been relegated to NSW Cup this year despite playing 16 games at halfback last season and 22 games the year before.

The game has been buzzing with stories about the off-contract Hastings being on the outer with his teammates.

For the first time, O’Brien has confirmed that Hastings won’t be at the Knights in 2026, while explaining why he’s decided to overlook the experienced half this season.

“For what we’re trying to achieve at the moment, I don’t believe Jackson could solve our issues,” O’Brien said.

“The problems that we have in the team at the moment, he’s not going to be able to come in and fix it and I’m also trying to be fair to Jackson so that he’s not harboured with that pressure.

“Anyone who is contracted to our club will always be considered, but again our issues aren’t Jackson’s areas, it’s depth in our forward pack and improving our fundamentals.

“The club has also been up front and honest that going forward he won’t be offered a new deal, so right now I’m focused on getting our win this weekend while in the process, upskilling the talent that are part of our future.”

CAPTAIN KALYN

Not a week goes by that Ponga’s future at the Knights and indeed the NRL, isn’t in the headlines.

Off-contract at the end of 2027, Ponga has been linked to the Roosters, Bulldogs, Dolphins, Warriors, the new Perth franchise and even New Zealand rugby union.

“The thing that we can’t control is the constant speculation about Kalyn’s future, be it rival clubs, or cross-code switches or whatever it is,” O’Brien said.

“No doubt he’s frustrated at the moment, along with the rest of the team.

“However, as he gets older, he’s got a greater ability to see that we’re not as far away as some people may think.

“The other thing I know is, he hasn’t wavered from his intent to win a comp in this town.

“I haven’t seen him waver one bit.

“I have a really healthy relationship with him and he and his housemate come over for dinner and we talk a lot about leadership and how he’s travelling.

“We’ve got a pretty close bond.”

The Knights moved to lock up Dylan Brown to ward off expansion threats. Picture: Getty Images

BUYING BROWN

The Knights recent signing of Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown to a $13 million 10-year deal shocked the NRL.

O’Brien has been loath to discuss the huge investment publicly, wanting to pour his entire focus into this season.

However, he was content to outline the security that Newcastle have in their spine and the advantage they should have over rival clubs that are in protection mode over their roster amid the impending arrival of new teams from Perth and PNG.

“The reality is, the teams that have been successful have had very strong spines,” O’Brien said.

“The club has been proactive in getting Dylan and so what we’ve done is lock away our spine for three more years.

“Phoenix Crossland, Sharpe, Dylan Brown and Ponga are here for the next few seasons so we don’t have to go out and worry about Perth or PNG coming in and looking for a half that just isn’t available.

“We’ve gone bang and locked away a real core of our team.

“I haven’t gone into huge depth conversations with Kalyn about Dylan, but he’s told me he’s excited by the prospect of playing with him.”

Asked if the Knights were eager to prise Brown out of the Eels this season, with the aid of a player-swap or otherwise, O’Brien said: “I don’t think it’s even possible.

“The conversations have never gone past next year and it’s not something I consume myself with daily. I haven’t entertained it.”

Adam O'Brien says sometimes after losses it isn’t fun. Picture: Getty Images

JOB SECURITY

O’Brien has led the Knights to four out of the last five finals series and it seems that in each of those seasons he has been forced to fend off calls for his head.

Knights fans on social media were at it again following the club’s 26-12 loss to the Warriors last weekend.

Contracted until the end of 2027, O’Brien said he wasn’t immune from the pressure, but added that he was adamant the Knights would fight their way out of their current stalemate.

“Of course it’s (pressure) there,” O’Brien said.

“You don’t get to be in these positions without having the pressure.

“I completely understand how important winning is to everybody in this whole town and it’s a true rugby league town where how we’re travelling makes a lot of people happy.

“I wouldn’t swap our fans for anyone in the world and sometimes after losses it isn’t fun, but this is a privilege.

“And you know what is fun? Coming out the other side.

“I reckon I’ve felt pressure every year that I’ve been here. We’ve gone through seasons where we didn’t have Kalyn for 12-rounds and he went to Canada and we didn’t know if he would be able to play again.

“We’ve been 14th before on the ladder at this period of time, but we’ve never just tossed it in and we’ve made four out of five finals.

“I would feel the pressure if I felt the players weren’t responding to me on the training field and the way they defend the tryline.

“That would make me feel a lot worse.

“We’re in there fighting our backsides off until the end of the games. We could have easily gotten completely ugly, but we’ve held our defensive resolve.

“It fills me with confidence that if we stick at this, we’re going to come through the other side.”

Could Dom Young return to the? Newcastle Knights. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

YOUNG TALENT TIME

English winger Dominic Young was scouted by Alex McKinnon to the Knights in 2021 before he accepted a $2 million four-year deal with the Roosters for the 2024 season.

Young is not even halfway through his current deal and he has been dropped to NSW Cup this weekend by the Roosters, prompting reports that he is on the outer and that the Knights would love to have him back at the club.

O’Brien said he wasn’t in a position to discuss a contracted player, but was happy to state: “Myself and the club never wanted to lose Dom in the first place, but he’s contracted to another club now and that’s where it sits.”

VEGAS, BABY

The Knights are on a shortlist to join the NRL’s US odyssey in Las Vegas 2026, alongside the Bulldogs, Dragons and Cowboys.

With the most loyal supporter base in the league, O’Brien said Newcastle’s ticket to the huge NRL launch party would be a reward for one of the game’s true rugby league heartlands.

“I think it would be great, not only for the players, but recognition from the NRL that we’re a true rugby league region,” O’Brien said.

“I’ve got no doubt the people here would support it.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if 10,000 Knights supporters went over because they turn up here in all sorts of weather, no matter how we’re going.

“It would be fantastic, it certainly has my support.”

Originally published as Adam O’Brien acknowledges Knights woes, insists Jackson Hastings is not the answer