‘It’s a business’: Bradman Best addresses worrying Knights rumour that their coach and star player could be gone in a few months

Strike centre Bradman Best says he hasn’t heard anything definitive from Kalyn Ponga or Adam O’Brien as rumours continue to swirl that Newcastle’s best player and their coach could leave at the end of the season.

Ponga still has two years left on his deal, but reports suggest the injured skipper has linked up with a New Zealand rugby agent to scour the market for a potential code switch.

The Maroons fullback joined the club in 2018, and while they’ve made finals in four of the past five seasons, they’ve never threatened for a title since he’s been there.

Scoring points has been a major issue for the Knights, with Dylan Brown’s arrival next year on huge money meant to sort out those issues.

But the question now is whether Ponga will be there to play alongside him and if O’Brien will be the coach following reports he will be sacked at the end of the year.

“There’s a bit going on outside these four walls, but I guess that’s the media and it comes with the job,” Best said.

“Us and the playing group haven’t looked too much into it.

“We all know it’s a business at the end of the day. Coach is still coaching, KP is still here. Until it comes from them, then we’ll know.

“I haven’t heard anything.”

Best would love for Ponga to stay but understands that even a lucrative contract might not be enough to keep him if he wants to leave, with Fletcher Sharpe the man to replace him at the back if he decides to go.

“He’s a big part of the club and he’s our captain, but it’s his decision,” Best said.

“I’ve been here the whole time he’s been here, so we have a bit of a connection, but if he does go, we have other fullbacks like ‘Sharpey’ and Fletcher Hunt and other lads to do the job.

“If he stays, then he stays.”

Meanwhile, O’Brien’s future is equally murky, with the Knights coach reportedly fighting to save his job.

These rumours have followed him almost annually, but O’Brien has managed to turn things around late in the season to ease the pressure.

However, they are just one win above the bottom-placed Titans and have scored the fewest points in the competition with a stack of changes in the halves over the past two years.

“We’ve been here before and we always hear that coach’s head is on the chopping block, but he’s still here today,” Best said.

“We’ve just got to keep on winning and there’s still finals footy to play.”