A seemingly harmless, “accidental” slight from a rival player could have been the catalyst for the Newcastle Knights’ stunning mid-season turnaround from strugglers to a genuine NRL finals contenders.
That’s according to an intriguing theory posed on The Back Page as the Knights storm into the postseason on the back of eight straight victories.
Host Tony Squires posed whether it was any coincidence that the timing of a comment caught on a press conference ‘hot mic’ about Adam O’Brien’s team lined up with the start of a stunning run of form that few saw coming.
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Melbourne Storm captain Christian Welch was heard before a June press conference expressing his surprise to coach Craig Bellamy the Knights had been beaten by a Penrith Panthers side missing almost all of its best players due to resting amid the State of Origin series.
“How did the Knights lose?,” a surprised Welch asks Bellamy … The Panthers didn’t have anyone”.
Newcastle’s 20-12 loss that night proved to be a turning point of their season and they haven’t lost a match since. They came out and thrashed the Bulldogs 66-0 the following week — the start of their current streak that followed a 5-10 start to their season.
Veteran Courier Mail reporter Robert ‘Crash’ Craddock said it wasn’t outrageous to think Welch’s “accidental sledge” had helped ignite things.
“I remember the Australian cricket team in the 1980s when Bob Hawke was at the tennis and said ‘we need a few people here like Pat Cash to help them over at the MCG’,” Craddock said.
“The Australian team was watching it after stumps and they said it was that accidental, tangential sledge that made them think ‘we really have to get this show moving.
“Funny little things like that can work for you.”
Rugby league great Brian Fletcher said it was likely O’Brien used the moment to motivate his players.
“Adam O’Brien would have shown them (the players) that clip, for sure, and a couple of weeks later they came out and beat Melbourne,” Fletcher said.
“That’s pretty much when they started this run.
“So be careful of the hot mics.”