Newcastle Knights coach Adam O'Brien has signed a two-year contract extension with the club.
The Knights confirmed O'Brien's new deal in a statement on Friday morning, tying him to Newcastle until the end of the 2024 season.
Knights CEO Philip Gardner said O'Brien's signature was significant for the club moving forward.
“Adam is an outstanding coach and an outstanding person, and everyone at the Club is delighted that he will be our Head Coach for a further two seasons,” Gardner told newcasteknights.con.au.
“This is an ideal outcome for everyone, it provides great personal security for Adam and his wife Sharyn and it means that we can continue to build the foundations required for the Club to be consistently successful.
“Adam‘s continued growth and evolution as a coach confirms he is the right person to lead the Newcastle Knights now and into the future.
“We are absolutely thrilled to know that he will be here until at least 2024, and hopefully many more years after that.”
O'Brien took over the reigns at Newcastle ahead of the 2020 season after 12 years as an assistant at the Storm and Roosters.
He led the club to an 11-1-8 record, making finals for the first time in seven seasons.
O'Brien was thrilled to have his future sorted and is confident in the club's direction.
“I’ve been really pleased with our overall progression since I joined the club back in November 2019,” O’Brien said.
“We identified key areas to strengthen, we developed a strategy to make that transition and then targeted the right people to execute those plans.
“I’m really pleased with the people we have under the roof.
“We’ve brought in several key staff members to complement our existing team, some great recruits, and key retentions. And we have an ongoing strategy designed to ensure our list remains highly competitive. I’m really proud they chose us, just like our members.
“From day one, Sharyn and I knew Newcastle was for us – it’s like where we both grew up on the South Coast of NSW. We were a good fit for Newcastle, and Newcastle is a good fit for us.
“We both love the community, we enjoy life outside of work and this extension allows us to bed down our new home and build deeper roots.”
O'Brien made headlines for the wrong reasons during the off-season, with reports emerging earlier this month that he was involved in a drunken altercation at the races.
The Knights denied those allegations, confirming that he attended the races but that “information gathered confirms all Knights representatives always acted professionally and appropriately."