AFTER steering Newcastle into their first finals match in seven years, Knights coach Adam O'Brien's next challenge will be to transform them into play-off regulars.
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The Knights' eventful 2020 campaign ended on Sunday in a 46-20 loss to South Sydney at ANZ Stadium, in their first post-season appearance since 2013.
Disappointed as he was with the result, especially after leading 14-0 early in the first half, O'Brien admitted he was "proud" of the effort his players produced.
He was hopeful the feeling "in their belly right now" would drive them to improve next season, when they will be striving to become the first Newcastle team to qualify for consecutive finals series since the club's golden era ended in 2003.
History suggests that, to eventually challenge for the title, the Knights need to first become a consistent top-eight outfit. Between 1995 and 2003, Newcastle missed the finals only once (by one win in 1996) and claimed two premierships.
Since then, every time they have featured in the play-offs - 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2013 - at least one lean season among the also-rans has followed immediately.
O'Brien will no doubt be desperate to avoid that trend.
He was confident the return from of Jayden Brailey (knee) and Connor Watson (Achilles) from long-term injuries, combined with the recuitment of Test forward Tyson Frizell from St George Illawarra, would bolster Newcastle when they return for pre-season training.
"We just have to keep getting better over the summer ... we've got a few things to work on," O'Brien said.
Ideally, the Knights, who finished seventh this season, will have a settled hooker and five-eighth next year.
O'Brien said skipper Mitchell Pearce would reap the benefits of playing alongside a consistent halves partner and dummy-half, admitting the loss of former Cronulla hooker Brailey after only two games was a "huge" blow for Newcastle.
"That's one thing I've got to do over summer, is identify our best attack, how we can get our strike players the ball in good positions," O'Brien said.
"Hopefully with the guys coming back, that's going to help with that immensely.
"You've got Jayden coming back into the team, you've got Connor coming back, you've got Frizell coming in. I think Bradman [Best] is only going to get better, and Starford [To'a}.
"It's a good mixture of talent. We've got some experience coming back to help Junior [Pearce] out, so it's not all bad. We've got a few things to work on, though."
Pearce described Newcastle's season as inconsistent but paid tribute to O'Brien, who in his first season as a head coach had to deal with the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I think Ads deserves a big rap," Pearce said.
"For a first-time coach to come in and get our team into the finals and change the whole culture, in a short period of time, is a massive effort.
"As a club we haven't been in the finals since 2013, and it's Ads' first year as a head coach. I've said it before, Ads is one of the best coaches I've ever had and the boys are right behind him."
Pearce said Newcastle's improvement in 12 months under O'Brien had been "enormous".
"There's plenty of things we have to improve on going forward, but we've got a real strong foundation here at the club," he said.
"I think our attack is something we can definitely work hard at and improve over the off-season.
"The travel, obviously. We had some inconsistency when we travelled.
"But I'm sure that will all get worked on over the off-season."
AAP reports: Newcastle's Chris Randall could miss the first two games of the 2021 NRL season after becoming the second player charged with a crusher tackle from week one of the finals.
The Knights hooker was placed on report for a crusher tackle on South Sydney star Cody Walker in the second half of Sunday's elimination final.
The 24-year-old has played just seven NRL games but is now facing a two-week suspension for the grade one charge.
An early guilty plea would ordinarily mean he would miss just one week.
However, with 45 carryover points Randall will miss two games unless he successfully appeals the charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night.
He is the second player pinged for the dangerous tackling technique from the first week of the finals with Parramatta's Marata Niukore facing a three-week ban.
The 24-year-old was charged for his tackle on Melbourne's Tino Fa'asuamaleaui on Saturday night, and the Eels are set to lodge the second-rower's plea on Monday.
An early guilty plea will mean he misses two games and will not play again this season unless the Eels make the NRL grand final.
