So, where to from here for the Newcastle Knights?
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The Hunter Valley’s representative in the NRL once again resembles a rudderless ship, floating along the open sea, with no obvious plan for where it is heading.
And now the ship has no captain.
Wayne Bennett announced last week he was leaving the club and on Monday it was revealed he will rejoin the Brisbane Broncos.
A lot has been written and said about Bennett and whether he should remain in charge of the club until the end of the season or leave immediately.
But more importantly than that, the club is about to enter yet another transitional period.
And Knights fans are entitled to ask why.
Why has a club that, with the signing of Bennett three years ago appeared on the precipice of consistent success, now have no coach and no hope of making the finals?
Why has the club seemingly gone backwards in terms of on-field performance and connection with the community?
And why has a club that is blessed with the greatest breeding ground of rugby league players in Australia, and arguably the world, in its backyard, only won two premierships in its 27 years of existence?
Newcastle fans are fed up.
No team in any sport is entitled to success, success is something that has to be earned.
But you could hardly call Knights supporters fair-weather sailors.
They have been there through it all – and they’ll be there long after the Wayne Bennetts and Darius Boyds of the world have left them.
They have sat on the hill at the old International Sports Centre through both the sunshine and the driving rain since 1988.
Knights fans are now owed success but they do deserve their club to be returned to its roots.
The greatest strength Newcastle ever had was that it was a team of coal miners sons.
Tough as nails blokes from Cessnock and Belmont and Maitland who were bloody good at football and were willing to run through a brick wall for the bloke standing next to them.
Reappointing Rick Stone as their next coach would be the first step in that direction.
If there is one positive on the horizon for Newcastle it is the success of their under 20s team.
The young Knights are killing it, they sit alone on top of the Holden Cup table.
Hopefully the pick of the bunch are given their chance in the top grade like young blokes at the club once were, like Matthew and Andrew Johns, Mark Hughes, Darren Albert and Danny Buderus.
It is time for the Knights to truly go back to their roots.
Our town, our team.
Since 1988.