Despite sitting in the bottom third of the ladder, the Newcastle Knights are expected to keep coach Adam O’Brien in charge through to the end of the 2025 season—unless results nosedive in dramatic fashion possibly, as revealed by James Hooper at CODE Sports.
Club management is reportedly standing by the under-pressure coach, who still has two years to run on his contract.
The situation could change if Newcastle suffers a significant form slump in the final seven weeks of the season, but for now, O’Brien has the board’s backing.
It is somewhat of a backflip from prior reports suggesting he could be gone any week now, so it is also hard to gauge with no official statement from within the Knights.
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Injuries to key players, including Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Lucas, have tempered internal expectations, with officials reportadly acknowledging that O’Brien has been forced to work with a weakened roster.
Fletcher Sharpe and Adam Elliott also remain sidelined, in what has been a frustrating season for the Knights and their fans.
There is also growing recognition that past recruitment has played a part—predating current football boss Peter O’Sullivan—that has left the club with salary cap constraints, which have limited O’Brien’s ability to field a much more competitive squad yielding better results.
While no public statement has been made about his future, according to reports it’s believed O’Brien will be evaluated based on the team’s competitiveness down the stretch, rather than pure wins and losses.
Newcastle has showed patches of solid form still even as recently as against Melbourne last weekend before they were eventually steamrolled in the second half
Veteran centre Dane Gagai will again slot in at fullback this Sunday when the Knights take on the Warriors at home, in what will hopefully help with the Knights stuttering attack in the absence of Kalyn Ponga this year now.
With a tough run home featuring finals contenders like the Panthers, Broncos, and Sharks, the pressure will only mount—but for now, O’Brien remains in the box seat over in the Hunter.