All about 2025: O'Brien won't be distracted by Knights' shiny new toy

Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien is excited about the prospect of Dylan Brown joining the club and helping the Knights become perennial premiership contenders but is focused on now, not next year. 

Captain Kalyn Ponga and current halves Fletcher Sharpe and Jack Cogger spear-headed Newcastle to a 26-12 victory over the Dolphins at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night to give the Knights a 2-0 start to their 2025 campaign. 

Brown’s decision earlier in the week to leave Parramatta at the end of this season on a 10-year deal with the Knights worth a reported $13 million dominated the news cycle in the lead-up to Newcastle’s first home game. 

O’Brien declined to answer questions about the club’s high-priced, high-profile recruit in his pre-game media conference on Wednesday but broke his silence after Newcastle’s five tries-to-two victory over the Dolphins. 

“I know I’m copping a little bit for not talking about Dylan Brown but my number one job yesterday was to not talk about next year when these guys are 24 hours out from playing,” O’Brien said. 

“I apologise if anyone felt, or the media felt disrespected. I don’t want to make your job harder at all, and I know it is your job to report on news, and it’s newsworthy, I get it. 

“But what might have come across as being disrespectful was coming from a place of respect. I was respecting the process of a 10-day cooling off period. 
“I was respecting Parramatta. The last thing Parramatta want me doing during that period is talk about how we’re going to play their player...

“I know the Red and Blue Army that was mentioned, that [they] have a right to know, but I tell you what – because I know them pretty well – they’d be really disappointed in me if I was in there talking about next year when we had a game tonight. 

“They’ve been through all of that stuff before. They don’t want to hear about rebuilds and all of that stuff. They want to win now, and so do we, and I want to make sure that we’re doing our best to do that.” 

Asked about the mostly negative commentary around the length of Brown’s contract, how much the Knights are apparently prepared to spend, and an anticipated switch from five-eighth to halfback, O’Brien said it was his responsibility to make it work. 

“I’d imagine it would be [disappointing] for Dylan, but at the end of the day, we’re happy with our purchase, and it’s up to us, it’s up to me, that we make sure that we get this right,” O’Brien said. 

“It won’t be up to Dylan, it won’t be up to Kalyn. Look, he (Ponga) needed some help. 

“We’ve got an obligation that if a player of Dylan's expertise comes on to the market, and we’re in a situation where we can potentially get him, then so we should, because that’s what this town deserves. 

“It was only 10 years ago that they won their first of three wooden spoons. We don’t want those days back. That’s our members’ and sponsors’ right, that we’re chasing to get good quality players here, and he is one. 

“How it all works, we’ve got 12 months, and that will be up to the coaching staff to implement it. But again, I keep coming back, our focus is recovery tomorrow and going up there and putting in a good performance against the Titans [next Saturday]. 

“How the halves play out, we’ll do that next year.” 

Ponga revealed he had spoken to Brown about the move to Newcastle but was bemused by how much attention it had received. 

“Everyone’s talking about it. It’s pretty crazy," Ponga said.

“I’m excited for him, I’m excited for the club, but that energy, putting energy towards it, isn’t going to help us win next week. It’s not going to help us recover well tomorrow. 

“I’ve already spoken to him, I’m happy, but he’s got a job to do and we’ve got a job to do. It’s 12 months away.” 

Ponga, who threw the final pass for three of Newcastle’s five tries and was a threat every time he touched the ball, dismissed speculation that he was restless in his current surroundings. 

“How do I look out there? I look happy, don’t I?” he said. “Look, it’s all part of the game, I understand it. 

“I’m used to it. It’s been a big part of my career for so long, but again, it’s not something that I worry about. It’s not going to make me a better player.” 

O’Brien said he had not felt it necessary to discuss the club’s long-term plans with Brown with any of the current players, including Sharpe and Cogger.