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Sack Adam O'Brien

Sir Galahad

Juniors
Messages
719
McKinnon was never involved in retention.



Versus

with McKinnon in line to take charge of list management in the Hunter.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/10/28/mckinnon-set-to-take-charge-of-knights-recruitment/

In my understanding there is

1) List Manager - person responsible for managing the cap and laising with the coach and CEO about what players we can afford and should be looking at recruiting for now and projecting the cap into the future.

2) Recruitment Officer - person who liases with the list ( roster ) manager. Identifies talent future talent and locates available talent the club needs immediately.
 

Apey

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
28,279
Oddly enough the last time Newcastle beat Melbourne was under Stone in 2015.
The Throwback Thursday match on Fox was the 2014 victory with Sione at fullback, Chanel on the wing and Travis Waddell at hooker.
Goodtimes

Hmm why can our players pass the ball here?

Maybe we really have been training without a ball.
 

Jono078

Referee
Messages
21,201
Hmm why can our players pass the ball here?

Maybe we really have been training without a ball.
Definitely. I could make a 5-minute long compilation, after only 8 rounds, of us fumbling a a ball that's been kicked and trying to either ground it or regather.
 

General Knight

Juniors
Messages
1,380
Any truth to this rumour about an argument between Johns and AOB during training a few weeks ago about our attack and as a result Johns being absent from training since then?
 

Jono078

Referee
Messages
21,201
Any truth to this rumour about an argument between Johns and AOB during training a few weeks ago about our attack and as a result Johns being absent from training since then?
Easy rumour to create based on how we've performed. I also don't buy that we fall apart that easily and quickly without Johns.

If it is true why has there been a falling out?
 

aqua_duck

Coach
Messages
18,636
I just want to know who is in charge of recruitment and retention.

I always believed Zammit was a scout and would aid in selling Newcastle to prospects. But he wouldn’t be the one offering contracts.

I don’t believe Gardner is the guy who says re-sign player X or sign player y. Like sure he has the power to but that shouldn’t be his job.

Danny Buderus. Obviously love him as a player but what’s he actually done in this football operations role? I only really remember seeing him when the Pearce wedding issue was happening.

And with all of that above, where does AOB sit. Surely he has big input otherwise he’ll leave here and say he never got the roster he really wanted.
Coaches always have a biggest say who they want on their roster unless they're just a puppet coach (Trent Barrett). CEO typically only gets involved when its a marquee signing or a player with abit of controversy attached, recruitment manager typically finds and recommends players are helps with the recruitment process if the coach wants a certain player. From what i know at other clubs there is typially a committee that looks after salary cap management.
 

aqua_duck

Coach
Messages
18,636
if that's true then there is one of of our problems. Gardner is jointly managing the roster ....ffs.

I would have thought an experienced hand would be required to properly maintain a roster, it's a very complicated process. Full time position in fact.
Gardner runs 7 licenced venues that collectively turnover 9 figures annually, he would be involved with high profile/marquee recruitment and retention decisions but the bloke legit would not sleep if he micromanaged every aspect of the business as people are suggesting
 

Woosh

Head Moderator
Messages
1,088
if that's true then there is one of of our problems. Gardner is jointly managing the roster ....ffs.

I would have thought an experienced hand would be required to properly maintain a roster, it's a very complicated process. Full time position in fact.

Connor Watson's future at the Newcastle Knights could hinge on a meeting with club officials in Brisbane next week with CEO Phil Gardner warning he has been offered a "take it or leave it" deal that won't be on the table forever. Recruitment boss Clint Zammet will sit down with the Knights utility star in a bid to escalate negotiations, with Watson told several weeks ago to test his worth on the open market after Newcastle's offer fell short of his expectations. Initially, he was personally ringing rival coaches because he doesn't have a manager but it's understood he is now being assisted by an agent. At this stage, it's unclear is Watson has attracted interest elsewhere and has any firm offers from rival clubs. One of the most popular players among teammates and Knights fans, Walson also has an ally in coach Adam O'Brien, who wants him to remain at the club. Watson has openly stated he is very keen to stay but it's now clear he will have to accept less than he believes he is worth to do so. Knights CEO Phil Gardner didn't mince words when we asked about the Watson negotiations. "We've only got so much money and we have made him the best offer we can so it's a simple situation for him - he either takes it or he leaves it," Gardner said. "The thing that I've also said to Connor is he needs to be careful as well. The longer he leaves it, there is always the possibility that same offer won't still be there if someone else comes along we may be interested in." Gardner shot down suggestions of a fan backlash if Watson was to depart. "I don't respond to petitions," he said. "I know the fans love Connor and so do we but there is a number and that's the number and that is it. There's a salary cap we to have to work to."


Yeah AOB can’t coach but I wouldn’t blame him for the current roster predicament.
AOB might want a player to stay but Zammet and Gardner has the biggest say who they re-sign and for how much/long.
 

macavity

Referee
Messages
20,648

Yeah AOB can’t coach but I wouldn’t blame him for the current roster predicament.
AOB might want a player to stay but Zammet and Gardner has the biggest say who they re-sign and for how much/long.

watson then ended up accepting EVEN LESS to go to the Roosters 🥴
 

Sir Galahad

Juniors
Messages
719

Yeah AOB can’t coach but I wouldn’t blame him for the current roster predicament.
AOB might want a player to stay but Zammet and Gardner has the biggest say who they re-sign and for how much/long.
seems a systemic issue,

what's that saying? Winning starts at the front office ?
 

Woosh

Head Moderator
Messages
1,088
KNIGHTS chief executive Philip Gardner has backed coach Adam O'Brien to turn the embattled team around and believes they can still reach this season's finals.
And Melbourne mastermind Craig Bellamy has also voiced strong support for his former understudy, describing O'Brien as "an outstanding coach" whose team was going through a tough stretch.

The Knights have nosedived from competition leaders after two rounds to last rung on the ladder, after a six-game losing streak culminating in Sunday's 50-2 thrashing from the Storm at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The slump has coincided with a horror run of injuries and suspensions that has sidelined first-graders Jayden Brailey, Dane Gagai, Mitch Barnett, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Hymel Hunt, Kurt Mann, Dom Young, Mat Croker and Jirah Momoisea for extended periods.
That run of outs ultimately cost then coach Nathan Brown his job, but Gardner has expressed confidence in O'Brien, who steered Newcastle into the finals in 2020 and 2021 and is under contract for another two seasons.

"The coach is under no pressure whatsoever," Gardner told the Newcastle Herald.

"We've got the right coach and right staff.
"With Adam and [football manager] Danny Buderus and [high-performance manager] Hayden Knowles, we've got a group there who are as good as anyone in the game.

"The challenge we've got is injuries and disruptions to the team. We were the only team who lost their seven and their nine before the season started.

"The Achilles injury to Jayden Brailey came on top of Mitchell Pearce asking for a release, so we lost both of those key players before a ball was kicked.

"So we've had to change the entire way the team plays, get the structures right with that, and we've been hit with a huge run of injuries.

"Wait to see how we go when the players come back.
"Once we get Jayden back, Barney back, Lachy Fitzgibbon and Gags, and get [Anthony] Milford onto the park, we'll be a different side.

"We just need some patience, with the coaching staff and the team. Support them, help them as much as we can during this difficult period, and we'll get the rewards for that."

Gardner acknowledged that "some of the performances have been substandard" and said O'Brien had been the first to admit that.

"The Storm gave us a lesson," Gardner said. "They showed us the level we need to be playing at. So in some respects, they've done us a favour. We can clearly see where we're short and what we need to do."

Despite their six consecutive defeats, the Knights are still only four points adrift of the top eight, and in their remaining 16 games play Canterbury, Canberra, Gold Coast and Brisbane twice apiece.

"You've got two sides [Penrith and Melbourne] who are well and truly ahead of everyone else," Gardner said.

"Because of that, most teams are going 'win one, lose one', so there's still an opportunity for us to make the semis.

"It's going to be difficult, given where we are, but if we can get on a good run in the second half of the season, it's possible.

"We still have to get our players back and, in our favour, we don't have to play Melbourne again and we play Penrith at home during the middle of State of Origin.

"We've had a very difficult draw so far, but hopefully it's not as tough for the second half of the competition.

"We play the Bulldogs twice and the Tigers again, and some other teams who have also been struggling a bit. So there's a chance.

"We need to play better, and everyone knows that, including the coach and the players.
 

Sir Galahad

Juniors
Messages
719
Yes we have injuries, so did the Rorters last year.

Our injury list has exposed a severe lack of depth , a weak culture and soft underbelly.

It's not that they lost , it's HOW they lost. f**king pathetic
 

Jono078

Referee
Messages
21,201
"We play the Bulldogs twice and the Tigers again, and some other teams who have also been struggling a bit. So there's a chance.
This is incredibly cringe! What happens if the Dogs beat us twice and the Tigers get us?

He’ll have some real egg on his face then, disrespecting others clubs.

Or the fact he’s trying to identify the bottom of the barrel to justify where we’ll get wins to play finals footy?

Absolutely gobsmacked I am.
 

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