Putting passion into defence force: Q&A with Knights assistant Brian McDermott

BM: It's been a challenge, coming from another country. Whenever I've dealt with players from overseas, you always know it's a big deal for them, but I think when coaches move to another country, they can't just blend into the group, you've got to produce straight away. So it's been a real challenge, but I've enjoyed it tremendously.

MM: You're an experienced head coach who has done plenty in the English game, why did you decide to join the Knights?

BM: The NRL has been improving for a long while, over 25, 30 years. It's a tough gig coaching in Super League because you're usually under-resourced, the talent pool isn't deep enough, and financially there's all sorts of constraints.

I think everybody has a desire to test themselves in the best competition, and it's always been mine, but ... you don't always get the chance.

An opportunity arose, I wasn't with a club at the time when I spoke to Adam, and quickly we both fitted each other. Luckily, and fortunately, I was given the job.

MM: Why did Adam want to bring you here?

BM: Well you'd have to ask Adam.

But I think this is a big move, not just for me, I think it's a real courageous move from Adam.

I haven't been falling over myself to come to the NRL, because I've usually had a job that I've been concentrating on. When I was 40 or 45, I was thinking I wouldn't mind coaching in the NRL, but I was embedded at Leeds.

I talked to a couple of NRL coaches, but it never came to much. I thought they must have thought 'I don't want to get him in because he's almost too qualified'. I mean that in a humble way, I'm not qualified to be an NRL coach.

But Adam and I had a frank conversion about what my role would be, and it's purely to support Adam. I imagine he had reservations about employing a senior guy, but he's made a brave call, and put Newcastle Knights first.

After a turbulent 2022, some things needed to change ... they've had a rotation of players, of staff. I think he needs some credit for having the balls to do it.

MM: So what did Adam want from you?

BM: Some seniority. I've been coaching now for quite some time. I know a lot about leading men, whether that's in the military or in rugby league.

I can't tell you I'm an expert or a guru at it, but I do have a lot of hours on the job. And Adam's still relatively young as a head coach, although he has got a lot of experience.

This is his fourth year as a head coach and ... he's looking for improvements. He's brought me in not just to help him, but also the other assistants.

MM: How familiar with the club and the NRL have you been in recent years?

BM: The NRL is always something I've been up to speed with, particularly Newcastle because I coached Danny Buderus at Leeds.

So I've got some understanding of what's gone on at Newcastle, and I know whether it be Brian Smith, Wayne Bennett, Rick Stone, Nathan Brown or Adam O'Brien, they've all had a real big task at hand to unlock the potential of Newcastle, and no one has quite nailed it yet.

I understand what they went through last year, [but] because I thought I had a fair idea of what was going on that when I came in I'd meet a demotivated set of players and staff. I thought there would be some division between the ranks, I thought some of the players might be soft.

But I haven't seen any of that. I think this team has the potential to be a really hard-working and hard team to beat. The players and staff have got all the ingredients there. I've been quite surprised about how tight they all are with each other.

MM: How have you found Adam as a coach, he came under pressure last year?

BM: He invites anything into the organisation which is going to make us better. He has got an incredible knowledge of the game.

That's just part of the role of being a head coach, but it helps if you're a real expert in both attack and defence. He is very welcoming to ideas and is not a closed shop at all. That's not easy to do when you're head coach.

The pressure he would have been under - I liken it to the year I had in 2016 with Leeds when we were bottom of the table for three quarters of the year.

The job becomes consuming, and I'm not too sure that people understand the pressure. Everything becomes of second importance to you.

I know he went through the ringer a bit, but he is full of energy, ideas and enthusiasm. He has a burning desire to turn it around.

MM: What have you been tasked to work on?

BM: I'm overlooking defence ... the club had a system that I've made some suggestions to slightly changing, but I haven't made a big overhaul. That's a point I'd like to stress, my role wasn't to come in and reinvent the wheel. I [also] work with Blake Green about what the forwards are doing in attack.

MM: The team's resilience and defensive resolve came under question last season after some heavy losses, particularly at home. Do you feel like that's been addressed this pre-season and will improve this year?

BM: The best defensive teams don't necessarily have the best defensive systems; it isn't what they write down on their piece of paper at the start of the week is any better than everyone else's.

But they certainly understand their system and they're excited by defending together. That's the task, it's not just to physically prepare them. You've got to get them to be emotionally connected to each other and connected to putting their body where it hurts to save tries.

You've got to have that defensive resolve and that's more about your emotional state as a group of players. That's the environment that's created and that will have more of a bearing on the tries you're saving.

MM: What do you make of the changes to the spine?

BM: Jayden Brailey, Lachlan Miller, Kalyn Ponga and Jackson Hastings, there's four very, very good players.

If they can get on the same sheet with each other ... they're all fine athletes and all very tough, and between Jackson and Kalyn you've got two leaders there on the field that don't need an invite to get the ball in their hands.

It could be very good, but they haven't worked together so far, they've had a couple of trials and we've had some glimpses of what it might look like. I think that's a question for after five rounds.

MM: The side lost both trials and conceded more than 60 points, is that a worry? How did the team reflect on those games?

BM: No. We got out of the trials what we wanted. Maybe we could have conceded a little less points and scored more, but we were working on very specific things.

MM: Given the key positional changes, do fans need to be realistic?

BM: Fans rightly want their team to go really well. But it's not for me, nor Adam, to say what the fans should expect.

But if there's one thing I've heard, repeatedly, is that the Newcastle fans just want to see a group with a work ethic, and some toughness and robustness about them.

Newcastle reminds me a little bit of the north of England - not the rain, cold and sideways wind, but the industrious nature about it where the town is built on industry and the mentality is of people who graft.

That's probably some of the principles in defence that the great teams have; work-ethic, toughness, resilience. If the referee blows six-again, just crack on. If somebody goes down injured, just crack on.

I think if we win or not, the fans will get off on that.

MM: Are you seeing that yet in the players or is that something that will build?

BM: We've seen that, but we've got to show that in games from round one.

MM: How is the side placed for the season?

BM: I think the players are nervous because they expect so much.

But I also see a group of players that are really well connected. Some of the senior guys have been really, really good - Tyson Frizell, the Safs, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Dane Gagai. But they know there's a tough season ahead because there's so much expectation.

And after last year, we've got to hit the ground running - that's what everybody expects.

Well ... as long as we have that attitude, toughness and passion for defence, I think we can lose a game by two or four points and then build on that.

So where we are placed at the moment is good, because while there is that nervousness from the players, they're not taking a backward step on that. They're meeting it head on.

MM: Are you excited for your first NRL campaign?

BM: If the team goes well, I'll be over the moon.

One of the biggest factors about coaching for me is being part of something, and part of a group, building relationships and having some fun. Being in Australia is a bit of a dream come true. The players have been tremendous with me, I can't speak highly enough of the club.

But we've got a job to do. We've got to bend our backs and work hard. We can't wait for it to start.