Newcastle Knights coach Adam O'Brien takes an old-school approach to the Knights's new era

One of McMahon's most consistent messages to his foundation Knights was that "you have to earn the right to attack", by winning the yardage battle up front.

More than 30 years later, O'Brien revealed a similar mindset before his debut as Newcastle's head coach.

"I'd like to see the team apply a few of the things that we've worked on in the pre-season," O'Brien said.

"I'd like to see that in round one. Will we see all of it? Probably not.

"We need to be patient and build our game in the early rounds.

"I don't think we need to be jumping into that feelgood attack right away.

"We need to earn the right."

O'Brien's priority in the off-season has been to transform the Knights' flimsy defence. Last year they conceded the fourth-most points in the competition (522 at an average of 21.75).

"From day one we've spoken about setting a standard, both in terms of effort and our defence," he said.

"I think our attack will evolve, just like every team, as the season goes on.

"But I'm really looking forward to setting a real standard in terms of our effort and how resilient we are, and how willing we are to defend our home ground."

While O'Brien is obviously hoping to launch his tenure with a victory, what he wants, first and foremost, is a solid performance.

"We're not looking to the scoreboard for our feedback," he said.

"As I've stated before, you can play poorly and win, and you can lose and play well.

"So I need to make sure that we're really consistent in our footy, and the scoreboard - it's an old cliche - will take care of itself.

"But if you ask me which one I want, I certainly want the win."

He was confident his players were "really clear" on the standards he expects, which he believes will "hold us in good stead, not just for 80 minutes but across the season".

O'Brien said that the debut of the captain's challenge in Thursday's clash between Canterbury and Parramatta had provided him with food for thought.

"We got a couple of free lessons last night, so we'll have some discussions in and around that today," he said.

"It's brand-new for all of us, so managing that well is going to be a really important part of the game."

The Warriors have been widely tipped to finish among the also-rans this year, but they have won six of their past eight games against the Knights, including a 24-20 upset in Newcastle last year

"I expect them to test our middle out," O'Brien said.

"Blake Green certainly is a guy that can continually probe that middle ... so we need to be on defensively, and we've trained that way."

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