Most would agree that reaching the finals two seasons in a row has been a commendable achievement by Adam O'Brien's troops, especially considering where the Knights were just four or five years ago.

Disappointment after bowing out in last week's 28-20 sudden-death loss to Parramatta was understandable, but the overriding impression is that the Knights are heading in the right direction.

Next season they should be aiming to finish higher up the ladder and progress beyond week one of the play-offs. I reckon that's do-able, if they can keep their key players on the field.

For now, however, they deserve a well-earned break from life in the NRL bubble, and respite from the weekly on-field punishment their bodies endure.

Their fans are entitled to be looking forward to 2022 with optimism and belief.

In the meantime, can we all please turn our attention to the Knights' round-ball counterparts, the Newcastle Jets?

Probably the best way to describe the Jets is "unrecognisable", on and off the field. Since the club's 2005-06 foundation season, it is hard to remember such wholesale turnover of personnel.

In the space of nine months, the club has changed owners, administration, coaches, support staff and vast numbers of players.

And I guess we have to wait and see if that's a good thing, or otherwise.

Presumably there will be a percentage of supporters who are disappointed that the club has parted company with the likes of Nigel Boogaard, Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Roy O'Donovan, in particular.

Fans tend to form emotional attachments to long-serving players.

Likewise, former chief executive Laurie McKinna and football-operations manager Joel Griffiths were highly regarded for their work behind the scenes, often in trying circumstances, during the four-and-a-half years that the franchise was owned by Chinese businessman Martin Lee.

All have now moved on as the club heads in a new direction.

From the outside looking in, familiar faces appear few and far between.

But realistically, was there any question that the Jets were crying out for change?

McKinna and Griffiths assembled a quality squad, and appointed a proven coach in Ernie Merrick, before Newcastle's bittersweet 2017-18 campaign.

The Jets lost the grand final that season, after a now-infamous video-referee howler, but the crowd of 29,410 at McDonald Jones Stadium highlighted how successfully they managed to capture the imagination.

Since then, however, it has been all downhill.

The roster gradually declined after the likes of Andrew Nabbout, Riley McGree, Ronny Vargas and Dimi Petratos found greener pastures, and only a last-round miracle last season allowed Newcastle to avoid the wooden spoon.

The ownership group who replaced Lee in January faced a choice at the end of last season. They could either allow the Jets to continue floundering along, making up the numbers, or they could invest in an improved roster.

The appointment of a new coach in Arthur Papas, and the recruitment of more than a dozen new players, would suggest they opted for the latter course of action.

To be honest, I wouldn't know most of these players from a bar of soap.

I'm certainly no expert on the various lower leagues around the world, or even the A-League for that matter.

But I'm assuming that Papas has done his homework and built a squad capable of much-needed improvement on recent seasons.

Papas, who served as deputy to Ange Postecoglou at J-League champions Yokohama F. Marinos, is a rookie head coach at A-League level, but he has arrived in town with an energy and passion that will be vital as he sets about creating a team in his own image.

If there was one criticism of former coach Craig Deans, it was perhaps that he was too laidback. Papas appears a study in contrast.

He's ambitious, driven ... and completely unperturbed about Newcastle's reputation as a coaching graveyard.

What's happened in the past does not seem to concern him. His focus is on what he can control, starting with Newcastle's next training session.

Unfortunately for Papas and the Jets, the start of this new era has been overshadowed by the ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nobody knows when Newcastle will be able to start playing trial games, or when the A-League proper will kick off.

It's still unclear if and when spectators will be able to attend games, or if A-League teams will follow the lead of their NRL and AFL counterparts and base themselves in an interstate "hub".

None of which, at first glance, would seem conducive to selling season tickets, let alone a franchise that is currently under interim ownership.

Thanks, COVID. Your timing could hardly be worse.

In saying that, each day that the competition is delayed gives Papas more time to work on his combinations and cohesion.

Jets fans are crossing their fingers that this new-look team will be worth the wait.