Breaking News - Nathan Brown to depart Knights at seasons end

[Still Nutty]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...d/news-story/808fd3834d47adeb9dd76c9785ef0b0b

Article is linked to Toohey Tweet and a subscriber offering from Barry Toohey on Newcastle Herald site

 

[Knight Vision]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...4UaghBJSNpDyzts5HFVXZBcVsO2P4lbOi05FQJhw3hq4s

 

[Yosh]

Can't see the article but good news you guys think? I personally think so.

Can see out the season and keep our guys in the hunt for 8th position.

Gives the club time to find a replacement. Also the said replacement has the whole off season to get the team molded.

Perhaps this early announcement allows us to snag a good free agent or two?

 

[Silent Knight]

I can only show gratitude for what Browny has done for this club. We were an absolute dumpster fire after Bennett left us and there wasn't much hope for the future at the time. Off-field we were a shambles post-Tinkler, our squad was a mix of players on the cusp of retirement (e.g. Jeremy Smith) and green players who were thrust into first grade well before they should have. Piece by piece, Brown got this club back up on it's feet, recruiting from clubs with a proven record of success.

Now we have off-field stability moving ahead since we partnered with Wests, we have a core group of very good players in Ponga, Pearce and Klemmer who will lead the team, our juniors have really grown into fine young men like the Saifiti brothers, Sione and Lachlan Fitzgibbon.

Brown had his limitations but the hallmark of a coach in my position is how well he has left the place. And Brown has left us strong. Hopefully the next step in the evolution of this club is to find a coach who can take us to sustained success, because as fans we deserve it after all the hard years.

But we wouldn't have got there without Nathan Brown. I will always look back fondly on his time at the club. History will smile on him. If he realised he couldn't do any more for our club and approached Gardner to step down, it speaks volumes about his character. I'm glad I met him this year.

 

[Yosh]

I can only show gratitude for what Browny has done for this club. We were an absolute dumpster fire after Bennett left us and there wasn't much hope for the future at the time. Off-field we were a shambles post-Tinkler, our squad was a mix of players on the cusp of retirement (e.g. Jeremy Smith) and green players who were thrust into first grade well before they should have. Piece by piece, Brown got this club back up on it's feet, recruiting from clubs with a proven record of success.

Now we have off-field stability moving ahead since we partnered with Wests, we have a group of very good players in Ponga, Pearce and Klemmer who will lead the team, our juniors have really grown into fine young men like the Saifiti brothers, Sione and Lachlan Fitzgibbon.

Brown had his limitations but the hallmark of a coach in my position is how well he has left the place. And Brown has left us strong. Hopefully the next step in the evolution of this club is to find a coach who can take us to sustained success, because as fans we deserve it after all the hard years.

But we wouldn't have got there without Nathan Brown. I will always look back fondly on his time at the club. History will smile on him. If he realised he couldn't do any more for our club and approached Gardner to step down, it speaks volumes about his character. I'm glad I met him this year.

Look... I don't want to be that guy and kick a guy when he is down but aren't we in a much better position due to Wests? It feels like management should getting praise not Brown... I dunno... Brown seems nice but in a results oriented business, all he got us were three spoons.

 

[Silent Knight]

Look... I don't want to be that guy and kick a guy when he is down but aren't we in a much better position due to Wests? It feels like management should getting praise not Brown... I dunno... Brown seems nice but in a results oriented business, all he got us were three spoons.

Two spoons. The other one was on Stone/Buderus.

Just my thoughts. When we went on our run I thought this is Brown's time. The 6 losses that followed were very hard to take and I questioned him, no doubt there. But based on his overall tenure, I think he did the best he could with what he had. And in the beginning we didn't have much at all.

 

[Burns]

Why
Would
You
Not
Wait

Until the end of the season. This is like when we sacked Brian Smith then imploded. We are still somewhat a chance of Finals.

 

[Old dog]

Yes you would think wait and depending on results then announce it.

 

[Swarzey]

Or maybe the fact we fell from a comfortable 5th place with great F/A, a team playing fantastic football to 12th, had lost 7 out of 9 games since then - including 6 weeks winless - and struggling to even make the finals being in a win or die situation.

Lets not beat around the bush, that was a horrific fall down the ladder and it's completely unacceptable. Not even clutching a finals spot should have ever saved his job.

 

[Burns]

Or maybe the fact we fell from a comfortable 5th place with great F/A, a team playing fantastic football to 12th, had lost 7 out of 9 games since then - including 6 weeks winless - and struggling to even make the finals being in a win or die situation.

Lets not beat around the bush, that was a horrific fall down the ladder and it's completely unacceptable. Not even clutching a finals spot should have ever saved his job.

Oh I completely agree - like, I’m happy with the news but the timing is just a bit off I think.

The next three weeks could be anything really.

 

[slotmachine]

I keep banging this drum but putting results aside have we looked a well coached team with Brown at the helm?

 

[perverse]

Or maybe the fact we fell from a comfortable 5th place with great F/A, a team playing fantastic football to 12th, had lost 7 out of 9 games since then - including 6 weeks winless - and struggling to even make the finals being in a win or die situation.

Lets not beat around the bush, that was a horrific fall down the ladder and it's completely unacceptable. Not even clutching a finals spot should have ever saved his job.

Yeah, I think there was a collective moment a few weeks ago where it became universally unforgivable, even for those who liked him.

I keep banging this drum but putting results aside have we looked a well coached team with Brown at the helm?

Yeah, not really... and it's something we were talking about as long as a couple of years ago. It was just harder to tell back then because the roster was so bad. There have been moments and games where we did look really good, and despite how awful the Cowboys were on the weekend, I thought we actually played that game smart. Far too little, far too late though.

 

[Swarzey]

I keep banging this drum but putting results aside have we looked a well coached team with Brown at the helm?

Outside that run of six games? No. We look like a collective of individuals bringing their own spark of skill and excellence to score tries with a handful of well structured raids spread throughout and that's why I've felt like we've had to move on from Brown for so long. The talent is there, without a doubt, but it just doesn't have the structures you see in great offensive teams.

Oh I completely agree - like, I’m happy with the news but the timing is just a bit off I think.

The next three weeks could be anything really.

I think it takes the pressure off them and to play the season out without that burden of playing for their coach's career at the club. The next three weeks could be anything, absolutely, even beyond that perhaps, but if the decision was inevitable regardless of results, then it's probably best to get it out there and just play out the season without it in the back of their minds.

 

[Silent Knight]

Why
Would
You
Not
Wait

Until the end of the season. This is like when we sacked Brian Smith then imploded. We are still somewhat a chance of Finals.

It could go the other way. It may galvanise the players and they will rip in because they want to send Brown out on the best possible terms.

 

[Haffa]

Why
Would
You
Not
Wait

Until the end of the season. This is like when we sacked Brian Smith then imploded. We are still somewhat a chance of Finals.

To start the hunt for a replacement

 

[Dragons 09]

Kudos to your club. At least you have management that demand results and scraping into the finals obviously just doesn't cut it for them. Hope you snag a good one who can get the best out of what is a pretty handy squad.

 

[perverse]

To start the hunt for a replacement

I could be wrong, but Wests are smooth operators. Surely they'd not pull the trigger unless they had a shortlist of blokes that were interested at the very least, if not having someone already lined up?

 

[ryana87]

How much of Browns success in recruitment be contributed to Mooney?

 

[Zoidberg]

Why
Would
You
Not
Wait

Until the end of the season. This is like when we sacked Brian Smith then imploded. We are still somewhat a chance of Finals.

I don’t mind it being announced now. May give players extra motivation. Keeps any rumours out of the headlines (if the decision got leaked).

I think it was time to move on to someone with a different skill set as coach. Browny did a great job to fix the roster and get us a top 6 team on paper. Now we need someone who can get them in the top 6 on the field.
As was mentioned in the official statement, when (if) we get success, Browny deserves part of the credit.

Interested to see who we get now.

 

[Reflector]

Great timing here. Gives them time to find a new coach without rushing around at the last moment looking for a stop-gap replacement. Considering the crap that's gone down over the last decade, fans should be breathing a sigh of relief this has ended at just the right time and saved it from becoming another Dragons/ Mary scenario...