Former Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold is poised to join the Newcastle Knights as a contracted consultant to assist head coach Adam O'Brien next season.
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Three months after his highly controversial stint as Brisbane coach came to an end in a blaze of publicity with more than three years left on his contract, the Newcastle Herald understands Seibold has all but agreed to dip his toe back into the water in a part-time consultancy role to become an advisor to O'Brien.
The Knights are refusing to comment on the appointment as the deal is yet to be signed off on but it's expected it will be finalised within the next week.
O'Brien and Seibold already enjoy a close relationship from their four years together at the Melbourne Storm under Craig Bellamy.
Seibold was in Newcastle earlier this week to meet with the Knights coach and discuss the new position. They were spotted having dinner together at the Burwood Hotel on Tuesday night and enjoying a coffee at Merewether the following morning before O'Brien left for a three day camp with his football staff at Riverwood Downs in the Barrington Tops.
The move to get Seibold on board follows senior assistant coach David Furner's departure to the Bulldogs.
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Not long after Seibold was forced out of the Broncos back in August after a dismal run that yielded just three wins from their opening 15 games, there was speculation linking him to the Knights.
The suggestion was he was being considered as a potential straight replacement for Furner. At the time, Knights CEO Phil Gardner denied that was the case and O'Brien subsequently confirmed that by promoting from within and elevating development coach Rory Kostjasyn into Furner's assistant coach position.
But O'Brien was still keen to have the ear of a more experienced coach in an official capacity to seek advice from and bounce ideas off going into next season.