After yet another halves shuffle, Andrew Johns questions the Knights coach
The legendary player for Newcastle, Andrew Johns, has questioned coach Adam O’Brien’s most recent halves rotation.
When the Knights meet the Dragons at Hunter Stadium on Friday, they will play their third halves pairing in five games.
Two weeks after being dropped from the starting lineup, Jackson Hastings has been brought back up and will be playing alongside Jack Cogger for the first time.
Two weeks ago, Cogger took over for Hastings, although he only appeared in two games with Tyson Gamble, the five-eighth, until the latter was fired this week.
Despite defeating the Storm in the third round and dropping the next two games by a combined nine points, O’Brien has chopped and altered his back.
Given that Hastings and Cogger are both usually adept at managing the game, club legend Johns was taken aback by his decision to combine them.
Johns was employed by Newcastle last year, but he has already resigned from his formal position with his beloved team.
“Keep in mind that in Australia during the 1990s, the two winning half-squads were Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart in Canberra and Alfie Langer and Kevvie Walters in Brisbane,” Johns said to Freddy and The Eighth’s Tips on Wide World of Sports.
Every now and then, Australia selected Alf and Laurie, but they were a bad match.
I fail to see how Hastings and Cogger are a good match.
“They are both pure halfbacks and first receivers.
“I’m not sure at all… I’m eager to watch how those two interact as a team and how the Knights attack with those two in the first half.”
This season, Newcastle has scored the second fewest points in the NRL.
When the Knights were defeated by the Warriors last week, they came under fire for not getting the ball to star fullback Kalyn Ponga in attacking space during the second half.
The criticism has been that the group lacks originality when it doesn’t originate with Ponga.
Having allowed 100 points in four games this season, O’Brien will be hopeful that his most recent half shake-up is enough to open some gaps in the Dragons defense.
