Interesting thoughts on Best and Brailey
https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/paul-g...s-tigers/fa177209-491f-4438-8f28-9959c4fd9609
KNIGHTS
Newcastle have been the disappointment of the year.
They should have made the eight. That's a star-studded side.
I hope that this team understand what rugby league means to that town. I'm not a local and won't pretend to understand exactly what makes Newcastle tick, but just look at their teams from the past.
That 1997 premiership team was stuffed with home-town heroes. Andrew and Matty Johns, Paul Harragon, Mark Hughes, Matt Gidley, Darren Albert, Adam Muir and Bill Peden, plus guys who had been in their system a long time like Owen Craigie, Marc Glanville, Tony Butterfield, Robbie O'Davis and Stephen Crowe.
By the 2001 premiership, you also had the likes of Danny Buderus, Steve Simpson, Josh Perry, Timana Tahu, Sean Rudder and Daniel Abraham, plus a club great - Michael Hagan - as the coach. It was littered with local players plus a sprinkling of imports who really bought into the culture, like Adam MacDougall and Ben Kennedy.
This team is the total opposite. It's more players who've been brought in, with a sprinkling of home-grown heroes.
The Knights after copping yet another try during their 54-10 hiding from Penrith on Sunday. (Getty)
I don't know if they totally understand their club. I think they need to spend the off-season talking with people about what rugby league means to that town.
This is a club that has had three wooden spoons in the past five seasons, yet they're still getting 20,000 people turning up to games. That proves their passion for the game and the Knights.
Those players should learn from that.
Another big question mark is a new, untested head coach in Adam O'Brien. How is he going to handle those unique responsibilities in his first NRL job?
But you'd have to think that he comes from a pretty good stable. He's worked under Craig Bellamy at Melbourne, then with Trent Robinson at the Roosters. He's emerged from the modern game's two most powerful clubs and should know what he's doing.
Another positive is Bradman Best, an outstanding young talent who – having come from the Central Coast juniors – is almost a local product. He's big, powerful and fast, and could be anything.
Bradman Best gave the disappointing Knights some upside this season. (Getty)
A huge plus for them is the recruitment of Jayden Brailey from the Sharks. I know from experience that he's a great club person; the type of bloke you can build a club around.
He trains his backside off and he's tough as nails. He's constantly working on his skills and has become much better with his passing and kicking games. He's always happy to work and always there for the team.
He's happy to be the butt of jokes or to dish them out. He's just the type of bloke you want around your club; actually, the kind of guy you want your daughter to marry! An absolute gentleman. He'll be fantastic for them.
The good news for Newcastle is that, at an average age of 25, their players finally consider themselves
not to be boys anymore.
Let's hope that in 2020, they can actually go out and play like men for 25 rounds.
One thing's for sure: the Knights learnt this season that you don't win grand finals in March
