How Knights coach Adam O'Brien inspired his players while dealing with a personal tragedy

O'Brien's mother, Maree, passed away last Thursday, just a couple of months after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Since the pre-season, O'Brien has been juggling training and game-day commitments with trips to Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to spend time with his mother and family.

"He's shown his commitment to the players," Gardner told the Newcastle Herald.

"He's shown them what commitment means.

"I think it was his way of saying: 'This is what you do. Regardless of what I'm going through, I'm committed to you guys'.

"So it's been a fantastic effort from him, but I think equally the players are committed to Adam."

In the circumstances, it would have been understandable if O'Brien had handed over the reins temporarily to assistant coach Brian McDermott, particularly for the clash with Penrith on April 15, when Maree was in palliative care.

"We said to Adam: 'Take the time off to be with your family'," Gardner said.

"But he kept travelling backwards and forwards because he was committed to the players. They've got a great bond, players and coach. That's showing in how they're playing."

This time last year, the Knights were midway through a seven-game losing streak, amid mounting speculation that O'Brien might not see out his contract, which runs until the end of next season.

The Knights eventually limped home in 14^th on the points table, leaving O'Brien in a precarious position before a ball was kicked this year.

But their encouraging start to 2023 - three wins and a draw from eight games - has silenced his critics, for the time being at least.

Gardner said the club's faith in O'Brien had never wavered after he steered the Knights into the play-offs in his first two seasons at the helm.

"Wayne Bennett once told me: 'Philip, it's always about the roster'," Gardner said.

"That's been proven many times. I don't think there are any poor coaches coaching in the NRL.

"It's about the roster, and then the ability of the coach to get them all playing as a team.

"Last year our issue was the roster. This year our roster is stronger, and you can see that in our results.

"The coach has got them playing as a team, and they're playing for the coach."

Gardner described 2022 as a "very, very difficult, incredibly challenging year", especially after the departure of Mitchell Pearce to Catalans Dragons and an injury that sidelined Jayden Brailey for the first 17 games.

"We did it tough, and what happens in those sorts of environments is a team loses confidence," Gardner said. "The coach actually did a great job holding it together as well as he possibly could."

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