Can Brian McDermott help instil some Mal Reilly-style steel into the Newcastle Knights?

McDermott arrived in Newcastle last week to start his tenure as Adam O'Brien's deputy, after previous coaching stints with London Harlequins, Leeds Rhinos, Toronto Wolfpack, Featherstone Rovers and the Fijian World Cup squad.

Buderus is in an ideal position to compare McDermott with fellow Yorkshireman Reilly, who in 1997 steered the Knights to their maiden premiership.

The former NSW and Kangaroos skipper made his top-grade debut under Reilly that season and then, 14 years later, won a Super League grand final with Leeds in McDermott's first season as a head coach.

McDermott proceeded to win another three Super League titles and two Challenge Cups with Leeds during an eight-season stint.

Buderus also played against McDermott, a former Great Britain Test front-rower, in the World Club Challenge game in 2002, in which Bradford Bulls upset the Knights 41-26 in Huddersfield.

"He was a very tough player, and that's how he coaches," Buderus told the Newcastle Herald.

"He's got a military background, so he's very well organised.

"I really enjoyed him as a coach. You knew exactly where you stood with him.

"He calls it as he sees it, and that's all players want.

"He's very big on building the character and toughness you need to be a good defensive team, so he'll play a big role in bringing that out in everyone."

Buderus said there were a lot of similarities between the 52-year-old McDermott and Reilly, still widely revered as Newcastle's greatest-ever coach after winning 63 per cent of his games over the course of four seasons.

"That's a fair analogy," Buderus said.

"They're both men who can draw a line in the sand and everyone understands exactly what is expected of them."

Despite his history with McDermott, Buderus said he had "not really" had much input into the club's decision to hire him.

"Adam was the one who connected with Brian," Buderus said.

"They had a few conversations and they just formed a connection right away.

"Adam was just really impressed with his ideas on the game. Brian has probably seen coaching from every different angle.

"He's coached a few teams in very different situations and had a lot of success, especially with the Rhinos.

"So there's probably not much from a coaching standpoint that he hasn't already seen before."

McDermott is not the first former Leeds Rhinos head coach to link with the Knights.

Ex-Kangaroo David Furner was among O'Brien's staff in his first year at Newcastle, in 2020.

Furner left the Knights at the end of that campaign to join Canterbury, and has recently reunited with his former Canberra mentor, Tim Sheens, at Wests Tigers.

Other new appointments on O'Brien's staff for 2023 include former Manly assistant coach Michael Monaghan and ex-Wallaby Berrick Barnes.

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