KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien doesn't want recalled Blues forward Tyson Frizell leaving Newcastle anytime soon and is also expecting a "natural" response against Manly from the players who missed Origin selection.
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O'Brien expressed his desire to keep in-form Frizell at the NRL club "long term" as he headed into camp with NSW but carried mixed emotions about Monday's omissions of Knights quartet Kalyn Ponga, Dane Gagai and the Saifiti brothers from their respective state squads for game one.
Frizell, 31 and off contract at the end the year, has been among Newcastle's best performers this season and now returns to the representative ranks for the first time since 2020.
Reports emerged over the weekend about interest from rival clubs signing Frizell, with O'Brien not surprised but keen to keep the second-rower wearing red and blue for the remainder of his career.
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"One hundred percent. Beyond the end of the contract and beyond the end of his career, I think he's got a long-term future at the club as well," O'Brien said.
"Tyson's aware that we want him to stay. I know the club's putting together something to put towards him and, given the form and his selection in Origin, naturally there'd be other clubs that would be craving a player like Tyson and his leadership.
"The club wants to keep him, definitely."
O'Brien had little hesitation in endorsing Frizell, preparing to add to his 14 Origin appearances at the Adelaide Oval on May 31 and named to start in the back-row alongside Greta-Branxton junior Hudson Young.
"He's been there and done it before," O'Brien said.
"Just the way Friz [Frizell] prepares himself for games has Origin written all over it. He's a warrior. What he does all week regardless of how his body is at the time, and at the moment he's 100 percent, he gets himself ready for battle for that type of arena every week."
On the flip side of Origin announcements O'Brien admits he's disappointed for Queensland incumbents Ponga (7 Origins) and Gagai (22) plus former NSW props Daniel Saifiti (7) and Jacob Saifiti (1).
However, the Newcastle mentor was now pleased to have them all available for the Knights against the Sea Eagles at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
"Always want them to fulfil their dreams and play at the highest level, but there's another part of me that's fist pumping that I've got them in the team this week," he said.
O'Brien said there was "no sign of anyone kicking stones" in Monday morning's leadership meeting and expects the experienced campaigners to respond after Newcastle's most recent loss to Cronulla and put their hands up for Origin selection later this series.
"I think naturally you will get that [reaction from Origin omission], but that's not what I'm hoping for," O'Brien said.
"I'm hoping that we want to play well for the Knights and try and rectify a couple of things from the Sharks game, which I'm sure we will. But there's no doubt that we'll get some natural spin off from the disappointment of not being selected."
The Knights went down 26-6 to the Sharks in Coffs Harbour on Saturday with O'Brien largely unaffected by injuries - Lachlan Fitzgibbon (calf) and Phoenix Crossland (cheek) cleared of any major issues while Kurt Mann (abdomen) tracks towards a possible return.
"We'd be foolish to expect anything different just because they're missing some personnel," O'Brien said with the Sea Eagles minus star trio Daly Cherry-Evans (Queensland) and the Trbojevic brothers, Tom (NSW) and Jake (injured).
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