Anthony Seibold’s coaching career is reportedly facing another setback as Newcastle deals with the fallout of Connor Watson’s defection to the Roosters.
James Hooper of foxsports.com.au reports Seibold is set to be let go by the Knights at the end of the season.
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The 46-year-old, who parted ways with the Broncos last year after less than two seasons in charge as the Brisbane powerhouse claimed its first ever wooden spoon, joined the coaching staff of good mate Adam O’Brien after the messy split but Newcastle has faced plenty of challenges this year.
Earlier this week NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent revealed there were question marks around Seibold’s role, having reportedly been given more responsibilities than what he was originally recruited for.
“I don’t want this to be a bash-up on Seibold, but the criticism of him at Brisbane was that he created all this head noise in the players because he talked in algebraic terms, everything was formulas and science and the players got bamboozled by it all,” Kent said.
“He was brought in at Newcastle, at the time we were told it was to do video analysis for O’Brien and he wouldn’t have any contact with the players which would’ve avoided the problem that happened to the Broncos.
“Now we know he’s doing one-on-ones with the players, what do you say?”
Foxsports.com.au reported on Friday Seibold becoming O’Brien’s “right hand man” was “the elephant in the room around the Newcastle coaching box this year”.
The Knights sit seventh and will most likely qualify for the finals, but the departure of key utility Watson to the tri-colours has opened the door to criticism about the club, which has underperformed in recent seasons.
A rebuild took place under former coach Nathan Brown before he was replaced by O’Brien as the Knights looked to take the next step. So far, they haven’t been able to do that, although injuries to key players this season — including the long-term absence of star halfback Mitchell Pearce — made life extremely difficult.
Kent pointed to Watson’s move to Sydney as a major reason to ask whether the Knights are building towards something bigger, or whether the concerns outweigh the positives.
“This isn’t just about your results and your spine and the health. It’s about the whole program and how it’s being run,” Kent told NRL 360.
“They’ve got excuses, every team does at this time of year with injuries.
“The fact is you’ve got a guy who is a very good player (Watson) who they headhunted some years back and he’s now voluntarily sought out a rival coach, knocked on the door and said: ‘I’m out of here’.
“The fact is they have to be careful, the Knights, about what they do next.”
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