Knights CEO Philip Gardner expects Adam O'Brien to not only become the club's longest-serving coach, but the first to reach 200 games.
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It adds a further three years to the 2024 season that he had left on his existing contract, and the new deal should allow him to surpass the club's two premiership-winning mentors Malcolm Reilly (98) and Michael Hagan (155) for the number of games in charge.
"Adam is only a couple off 100, so it will make him the second [longest-serving]," Gardner said. "With 27 rounds a year, another four years to go, he should be able to make 200 games."
Speaking to the Newcastle Herald on Thursday, Gardner said the club had extended O'Brien for not only his finals record - qualifying three out of the past four years - but also because he had proved "culturally" the right man for the job.
"If you look at his statistics in the four years he has been with us, he's only missed the semis once," Gardner said.
"That year when we missed the finals, we had the Mitchell Pearce meltdown ... we lost our seven before the season even started. 'KP' got injured that year, Jayden Brailey got injured, so we lost the seven, nine and one.
"The performance then was based on injury-load.
"But the rest of the time we've made the semis.
"He is a guy who is very well connected with the team. His habits and behaviour are exemplary, on and off the park, so we think he is a great representative for our club and our town.
"He's a person of great personal habits; great work ethic, works hard and connects well. So culturally we think he is the right fit for the club and the town."
O'Brien's extension comes after a difficult couple of years, both professionally and personally.
After making the finals in 2020 and 2021, Newcastle dropped to a lowly 14th-placed finish in 2022 and copped a humiliating series of defeats on home turf.
The team bounced back with improved showings early last season, but O'Brien was personally dealing with firstly the illness, and later the passing, of his mum.
They again fell to 14th by mid-season but turned their campaign around with an inspiring winning run which stretched to 10 games, sold out three home fixtures and ended in week two of the finals, a point they hadn't reached since 2013.
"To me, he captures the values of the club: tradition, he honours the past; grit, he has shown grit during a period of time with us; he's inspired the players to be better and he is always about winning," Gardner said.
"When we're looking for someone to come into the club and reflect that culture, there's really in the game I don't think anyone better than Adam to do that.
"And Adam is not a big head, he is humble.
"He is hard-working, which is a lot of the roots of Newcastle. He reflects that.
"But he's also got the performance. The way we finished last year shows what we hopefully can expect from the next four years that he is with us."
O'Brien said on Thursday the new deal brought a "sense of relief, that both myself and my wife, are in the town and the club exactly where we want to be".
"The motivation ... is to continue to build what we have done over the last three or four seasons.
"The club hasn't been in a healthier position, certainly in my time here. With the help of a lot of good people ... there's certainly good things to come."
Gardner added of O'Brien: "The people of Newcastle know him now. This is his fifth season in charge.
"During that time, I think the people of Newcastle have really come to adopt him. And I think that's really important.
"He and the team now reflect the spirit of the town, and that's really important to us."
