Former Knights coach Rick Stone has his nose in front of his one-time assistant Garth Brennan in what is effectively a two-horse race to replace Broncos-bound Wayne Bennett.
The Knights are in the process of compiling a short list of genuine candidates and hope to be in a position to appoint Bennett’s successor by late next week or early the following week.
The selection sub-committee of Knights chief executive Matt Gidley, chairman Paul Harragon and club adviser John Quayle met last Friday as part of that process, and will make their recommendations to the interim board by the end of this week.
It is understood only a select few, including born-and-bred Novocastrians Stone and Brennan, will make it to the interview stage because most of the prospective candidates do not have a strong connection to Newcastle and the Hunter.
This has been identified as the most critical qualification for the position as the Knights try to re-establish themselves with their local community and supporter base.
As a Lakes United and Knights junior, former NSW and Australian halfback Brett Kimmorley fits that bill but he is yet to coach an NRL club.
Brennan is in the same category, but it is understood the Knights would prefer appointing someone who has had some NRL experience without importing another high-profile ‘‘outsider’’ after the perceived failure of that model under Bennett and, before him, Brian Smith.
Gidley would not comment when asked about individual candidates and their chances but told the Newcastle Herald the picture should be clearer by the end of next week.
‘‘We spoke at length about the position and the candidates and the process, so there’s probably not a lot to update at this stage other than we met again last Friday to discuss all that, and we’ll meet again later this week,’’ Gidley said.
‘‘We’ve drafted the criteria and we’re going through a process now of researching the key candidates who fit the criteria, so we’ve done a lot of work looking into the background of the coaches who we feel are best suited to our club.
‘‘We’ll report that back to the board a bit later this week then look to move things forward from there. The plan is to confirm the candidates that have made the short list, then discuss with the board as to how they want to move forward from there and whether they want to interview the strongest candidates or all of them, so that’s where I think we’ll get to this week.’’
Though Brennan has high-profile support in his corner, including Penrith general manager of football Phil Gould and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, Stone remains the favourite as he has been part of the Knights’ coaching system since 2006, when he assisted Michael Hagan.
Stone continued in that role under Smith, eventually succeeding the former Dragons, Eels and Steelers mentor with four rounds left in the 2009 regular season.
He steered the Knights into the finals that year and again in 2011, having been told in April that year that he was being pushed sideways to make way for Bennett.
In Stone’s favour, he did not complain when his job description changed and he returned to an assistant’s role under Bennett. He was similarly stoic in 2013 when handed the second-tier NSW Cup coaching reins when Rip Taylor was not reappointed.
While remaining in the background as one of Bennett’s assistants at the Knights, Stone has expanded his horizons by coaching Fiji’s national team, and he only augmented his resumé by steering the Bati to the World Cup semi-finals last year.
Another plus for 47-year-old Stone is his long friendship with Harragon, which stretches back to their school days and junior clubs Lakes and Valentine-Eleebana, and his close connections with the current Knights squad – many of whom have signed for next year and beyond.
When Bennett announced on July 10 that he would be leaving the Knights at the end of this season, Stone told the Herald he wanted another crack at the top job.
‘‘The longer you coach and the more experience you get, the better you are for it,’’ Stone said.
‘‘If you think about Michael Hagan, Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett, and the little bit of international exposure I had in the World Cup with Fiji, I know I’m definitely a better, more complete coach than when I had the job for those couple of years.
‘‘If there is an opportunity to go back into a head coaching job at Newcastle, that’s something I’d be really interested in.’’
Brennan’s star has also risen since he left the Knights at the end of 2011, when Bennett replaced the former police prosecutor with his own support staff.
The 42-year-old Wests Rosellas junior had been an NRL assistant to Stone and, in 2011, coached the Knights to the National Youth Cup (under-20s) play-offs for the first time.
Brennan joined Penrith in 2012, winning the NYC coach of the year award in his first season.
He guided the Panthers to the NYC premiership last year, and is currently in charge of Penrith’s table-topping NSW Cup side.
‘‘Obviously, every young coach has aspirations, and I would be interested in any job as an NRL head coach, especially in my home town,’’ Brennan told the Herald on July 10.
‘‘That would be the pinnacle. But right now my focus is on the NSW Cup team here at Penrith.’’
Newcastle Herald
