KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien has paid little heed to two major talking points this week, instead focusing all his energy into conjuring up a breakthrough win against Melbourne Storm at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
O'Brien has dismissed Newcastle's 11-game losing streak against Melbourne as an "irrelevant narrative", saying it will have no bearing on who wins on Saturday.
He has also brushed aside speculation surrounding his future, after being blindsided by reports that former Newcastle lord mayor Jeff McCloy had recently sounded Des Hasler out, before Hasler's decision to sign with the Gold Coast.
Newcastle have not beaten the Storm since 2015 and O'Brien has been unsuccessful in all four clashes with his former mentor, Storm master coach Craig Bellamy.
"It's an irrelevant narrative," O'Brien said of the losing streak.
"The reality is these two rosters have never faced each other. If you're a tennis player or a boxer and you lost to the same opponent nine times in a row, you'd probably be worried. But it's not relevant to this.
"Some of the players in those games don't even play the game anymore, they're commentators now."
Of the 17-man squad O'Brien has named, 11 have never beaten Melbourne and several of them - including Daniel and Jacob Saifiti, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Kalyn Ponga - have been dominated on multiple occasions.
Asked how he could instil in his players the collective belief that they can break the drought, O'Brien replied: "We get confidence from our performances against a couple of the heavyweights in the competition - the teams up at the pointy end of the ladder. We can get confidence out of that."
O'Brien said coaching against Bellamy, under whom he served a 10-year apprenticeship, was of "zero" significance to him personally. "I want to win the game of footy, regardless of who the opposition coach is," he said.
He noted the reports about McCloy's clandestine approach to Hasler but did not appear concerned.
"I've heard about it," he said. "Again, it doesn't help us win on the weekend, so I don't give it any air.
"Ultimately I'm focused on playing my part on the preparation of the team. If I go around worrying about who made what phone call to who, that's doing a disservice to these players.
"They're holding their end up at training, and I'll hold my end up and do my job.
"It doesn't help us win, so I don't think about it."
Asked if he was disappointed about the conjecture, he replied: "It's not ideal. It's not something you hope for. But again, it's not taking up my head space at all, to be honest. I was aware of it. I was told about it.
"Again, I move on. I've got a job to do."
Knights officials are hoping for a crowd of at least 25,000, with Newcastle's defending NRLW champions to take on St George Illawarra in their season-opening curtain-raiser.
"We're expecting it it to be packed," O'Brien said. "We can't wait, actually."
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