Knights assistant Blake Green has reportedly knocked back an approach from the Super League, which keeps him in contention to take over should the club sack Adam O’Brien.
Reports emerged in mid-July embattled Newcastle coach would be axed from his position at the season’s end, with the club preparing to pay O’Brien out of the final two years of his deal.
Incoming chief executive Peter Parr moved to silence those reports, telling Code Sports: “As far as I’m aware, he’s going to be the coach for the foreseeable future”.
However, the doubts surrounding O’Brien’s future are still lingering, with Green being named as the leading candidate to take over.
Having hung up the boots in 2021 after a 181-game NRL career, Green initially signed on as Newcastle’s NRLW coach that same year.
However, he ultimately shifted into the club’s NRL coaching staff and is currently O’Brien’s attacking coach.
According to the Newcastle Herald, the former halfback is being targeted by the Castleford Tigers to make a move to England and become a head coach.
However, the 38-year-old reportedly has “little or no interest” in making a move abroad, which leaves him in contention to succeed O’Brien should he be sacked.
Doubts have been cast over his potential ability to lead the Knights moving forward, with Fox League’s James Hooper labelling Green’s potential promotion “strange”.
“There’s a big push on for Blake Green,” Hooper said on NRL360.
“I’m not saying he won’t make a very competent head coach at some point, but he’s in charge of their attack at the moment.
“And their attack is one of the worst, diabolical, putrid in terms of what they’ve been able to produce.
“That’s not a knock on him, but I’m just saying it is a strange narrative.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis, meanwhile, was of the belief O’Brien could be set to continue his tenure into the 2026 season.
However, Hooper hit back at that claim, saying: “I know you’re saying you think he might be a good chance, but with all the noise that’s been going on there, Mick, I think you might have your head in the sand a bit”.
For Parr, the news of O’Brien’s impending axing could simply be a case of conversations within the club being misunderstood.
“Nobody above me has discussed Adam not being at the club. But I also understand there’s always conversations in and around footy clubs when you’re not travelling well and we have only won a third of our games,” he said.
“So I understand that different people would be talking about the team, the coach, the players.
“Sometimes what happens there is people put their own spin on it or add their own GST, and it doesn’t take much to turn it into a story.
“But as far as I am aware, there has been no discussion about Adam’s future.”
