Newcastle is situated on the NSW coast north of Sydney. It's a strong RL city with good support on game day, even when the team isn't going well. They certainly had reason to turn up to watch their team in the early 20th century.
The coach for 2000 was Warren Ryan, in his second and last year for the club. In came Michael Hagan for 154 games over six years. In his first year, he led the team to second place and a grand final victory. He was there for the club's first wooden spoon but the team bounced back the following year.
After he moved on, Brian Smith arrived but the year was a disaster. The forced retirement of the outstanding player Andrew Johns and an horrific injury toll coupled with personality conflicts all contributed. Things did improve in 2008 but Smith resigned during the season, allowing Rick Stone to take charge. Average results led to Wayne Bennett taking over but again for the most part not the most productive period for the club.
Rick came back but was sacked, with Danny Buderus stepping in as a temporary measure. The second wooden spoon was followed by two more under new coach Nathan Brown. Things did pick up after that but not enough it seems as he was replaced by Adam O'Brien for the 2020 season. A strong 2020 has been followed by a softer 2021 but a bad injury run didn't help the cause.
2022 followed 2021 in a similar fashion but while 2022 started poorly, a nine match winning streak propelled them into the finals with a fifth spot finish. They seem full of confidence as you do when winning becomes a habit.
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