Sack Adam O'Brien

[Woosh]

The contract situation with Ponga became a “farce” after reports the Knights at one point pulled a three-year extension offer off the table as a result of Ponga’s father, Andre, wanting authority over when the new deal would be announced publicly.

However, Gardner’s latest revelations in an interview withThe Sydney Morning Herald show the club’s real problem is that a roster gamble has blown up in its face.

Gardner has confirmed the club was fully aware its lack of depth in key-player positions was in danger of being completely exposed if injuries struck.

That is exactly what happened.

It all started with Mitchell Pearce’s request to be released from his contract to move to France
The Knights were unable to pull off a deal to get Luke Brooks to the club, despite the Tigers halfback reportedly requesting a release and making public comments that he was interested in working with Newcastle playmaking consultant Andrew Johns.

Gardner now says the club shifted its tactics to focus more around hooker Jayden Brailey.

Then when the No. 9 suffered a ruptured achilles tendon in pre-season training Newcastle’s worst nightmare had come true.



The gamble has clearly blown up in the club’s face.

“The issue for us is not just the issue with Mitchell. Jayden Brailey did his achilles before the season started,” Gardner said.

“Andrew Johns came up to assist us in a consultancy role to work with our halves and in that situation we were relying very heavily on Jayden Brailey about how we would play our game, given the situation with Mitch.



“We did know, and we flagged it early on when we let Mitchell Pearce go, that this season would be subject to injury, that depth would be a problem.

“Unfortunately that has come to pass. We’ll get the troops back in a few weeks and you’ll see a different Knights.”

The club’s injury crisis has at different times included Dane Gagai, Daniel Saifiti and halfback Adam Clune. Newcastle has been forced in some games this season to run with a makeshift halves pairings of Phoenix Crossland and Tex Hoy.

Meanwhile, Gardner also opened up on the “robust” contract negotiations with Andre Ponga.

He confirmed the critical news that Ponga’s five-year contract extension does not include any “option” clauses that would allow him to explore other deals.

“Those negotiations were very robust but they were done in the best way, with the best intentions and the right outcome was achieved,” Gardner told The Herald.

“The whole circus that goes around players now, regardless of their contract status, really challenges the mental strength of the players. We’re seeing the same thing being played out with [Cameron] Munster - he’s contracted to the Storm until ’23 but it’s consistent speculation about where he’s going to be. And he’s performing in a side that’s performing extremely well, yet he’s feeling the pressure.

“KP has done a fantastic job of dealing with the pressure of the situation. He’s shown why we made him captain.”

There were calls following the club’s humiliating loss against Parramatta for Ponga to stand down as skipper.

He was also criticised for a post-match interview after the game where he said there was “not much” he would say to the team after the loss.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/newcastle-gambled-and-it-blew-up-in-their-face/news-story/8056a95dc188778a2e24a2ff8a5a1a0d?amp&nk=cd69f58e710cb971301849aeff3e0aac-1652413517

 

[TooheysNew]

Wow. Just... wow.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Basically blaming his poor management on Pearce leaving.

The roster sucks and reaks of nepotism and ineptitude.

Part of the plan to fix it they're planning to replace Barnett with Adama Elliot ? Give me a break.

 

[slotmachine]

Part of the plan to fix it they're planning to replace Barnett with Adama Elliot ? Give me a break.

Letting players leave early and replacing them with worse players or no one is the key to success.

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

Not sure if that win does more harm than good.

Would you rather a terrible win with no real positives except for the 2 points or a 50 point hiding against the worst team in the comp that would almost certainly seal AOB's fate allowing the team to head in a more positive direction?

 

[Jono078]

Not sure if that win does more harm than good.

Would you rather a terrible win with no real positives except for the 2 points or a 50 point hiding against the worst team in the comp that would almost certainly seal AOB's fate allowing the team to head in a more positive direction?

He's bought himself another week at the least. If we unravel against the Broncos then the heat goes back up tenfold on AOB.

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

He's bought himself another week at the least. If we unravel against the Broncos then the heat goes back up tenfold on AOB.

Honestly, if I was Knights management I would not have seen anything that suggested I should release any pressure on him. That was crap.

The quality of opposition was at an all-time low.

 

[Yosh]

A boring win against the worst side in the comp shouldn't get any brownie points for that.

 

[macavity]

He celebrated like a guy that knew he would be fired if we lost.

 

[aqua_duck]

A boring win against the worst side in the comp shouldn't get any brownie points for that.

yep, the dogs have put in some spirited performances this season even in games they've lost, last night was not one of those occasions. If they had dished that up against a top 8 side they would have lost by 30, against us the game was still up for grabs with 5 to go

 

[Mr_Knightside]

yep, the dogs have put in some spirited performances this season even in games they've lost, last night was not one of those occasions. If they had dished that up against a top 8 side they would have lost by 30, against us the game was still up for grabs with 5 to go

Honestly, if they played Storm, Panthers, Sharks or Eels they would have been beaten by 50+ imo. I only watched the second half but the Dogs were disgraceful. We managed to keep them in the game through bombed tries and poor set finishes.

It certainly wasn’t a pretty win but it was spirited so I’ll give them that. Broncos next week at home right? All of a sudden that’s looking like a real tough matchup. Probably a good thing they just won 38-0 because the boys won’t take it easy.

 

[Yosh]

We literally have the tallest wing combo in the world but we never bomb to them. It should be a staple of our repertoire and practiced during the week.

It's simple things that should have already been implemented that haven't.

 

[Jono078]

We literally have the tallest wing combo in the world but we never bomb to them. It should be a staple of our repertoire and practiced during the week.

It's simple things that should have already been implemented that haven't.

They definitely tried for Dom last night a couple of times. He got checked and perhaps kicks not good enough to give him enough time to get there.

I reckon Milf will have his corner bombs pinpoint for them.

 

[Knight Tales]

listening to D Saf on Triple M today. He said Milf is very quiet but he is tearing it up for opposed sessions. On another level.

 

[TooheysNew]

listening to D Saf on Triple M today. He said Milf is very quiet but he is tearing it up for opposed sessions. On another level.

My great grandmother would tear it up in opposed sessions against our first grade squad at the moment. And she's been dead for years.

 

[Spot On]

I reckon Milf will have his corner bombs pinpoint for them.

Looking forward to seeing Milford turn around his horrible recent playing career (last 5 years really have been very, very poor).

Seems to be a lot of people talking him up, talking up the talent and expecting him to dominate.

However, the training paddock is a lot different to game day as can be seen by our game day performances.

 

[Knight Tales]

Looking forward to seeing Milford turn around his horrible recent playing career (last 5 years really have been very, very poor).

Seems to be a lot of people talking him up, talking up the talent and expecting him to dominate.

However, the training paddock is a lot different to game day as can be seen by our game day performances.

Expecting him to dominate is probably a stretch at the moment. What we should
Expect is him giving Ponga another option to decide when he wants the ball. The big tragedy will be if Milford shows those class touches and O’Brien insists on Ponga dominating on the ball. Would be nice if Ponga let’s Milford take control if it is working for us.

 

[Jono078]

Looking forward to seeing Milford turn around his horrible recent playing career (last 5 years really have been very, very poor).

Seems to be a lot of people talking him up, talking up the talent and expecting him to dominate.

However, the training paddock is a lot different to game day as can be seen by our game day performances.

Dominate is not what I'm expecting, but I think he can do a lot of things better than Clune and Clifford, especially if he's just slightly switched on. His name alone would command the respect of opposition and should free up Ponga a bit.

 

[Knight Tales]

Dominate is not what I'm expecting, but I think he can do a lot of things better than Clune and Clifford, especially if he's just slightly switched on. His name alone would command the respect of opposition and should free up Ponga a bit.

His interview today suggests he is open to a longer stint here but he admitted he and his manager have spoken with Wayne and the Dolphins in more of an informal sense. Says he is looking forward to his combination with Ponga and that joey has done wonders for his game already.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/anthony-milford-opens-up-on-crap-sevenmonth-exile-ahead-of-nrl-return/news-story/ca79b055a7c2d60b898d10385b530508

 

[Burwood]

Barrett loses to any of the other 14 teams in the comp and his job is safe. But it seems losing to the knights was seen as the ultimate humiliation and he’s fallen on his sword.