+34
The steel hero of Newcastle... and how one prank unleashed the ‘angriest man on the planet’
Four wooden spoons since 2015 will test the resolve of any town, but Newcastle isn’t just any town. Get the expert take on NRL Grand Final Day with FOX LEAGUE’s extensive coverage, plus full and mini replays available post-game on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo?
WHAT'S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. When you look at those thousands of fans stranded on stalled trains at Warnervale, and the highway gridlock choking the motorway, you have to wonder what hooks a town this hard.
A lesser place finds something else to care about on a Sunday arvo. Not Newcastle. They copped the chaos, turned Accor Stadium into a sea of red and blue, and proved they just don’t go away. Proper footy town.
It works because Newcastle is working-class tough. They want a jumper that reflects the town, and it has been that way since day one. Most who sign with the Knights put down roots for good. Down at Merewether beach early any morning, you see former greats swimming, running, talking footy over a takeaway cup.
Once you pull on that jersey, you belong to the place. Back in 2012 I arrived fresh in town to work under Wayne Bennett, and the phone rang. It was Mick Reid — Reidy to anyone who knows him. Just rang up out of the blue: Want to grab a coffee?
First impression? Gunny Highway out of Heartbreak Ridge — all business, no bullshit. Over two or three coffees that first day, we just clicked. Reidy’s top-grade playing record wasn’t about flashy highlights: three games for the Bulldogs in 1987, three for the Knights across 1988 and 1989, no tries, no goals.
But what he lacked on the stat sheet, he made up for in the trenches. He has done every job going at the club since. Years ago, the club ran a promotional campaign featuring a bloke in full medieval knight armour standing in front of a hardline slogan. Yeah, you guessed it — that was Reidy inside the tin can.
I didn’t want a guy to come in and try to be their mate; I wanted someone of genuine character to set the standards in training. In age-group footy, the biggest thing missing is the example of older players — the blokes who show you how to actually prepare when you’re young. I knew right then, with him on board, I had what the players needed.
Real Deal — as I came to call him — made Gunny Highway look soft. He didn’t play favourites, and he left the boys in no doubt they were not where they needed to be fitness-wise. He taught them how to keep going when they thought they had reached their limit, and to do that, he needed to drag them out of their comfort zone and into deep water.
Which explains why he lost his absolute mind when the boys decided it would be a funny prank to crush up his daughter’s special little snack — packed by dad himself — just to see if they could rattle him. Mid-preseason, training was just about wrapped up when Reidy comes storming over, face like a thundercloud.
In his hands was a ball of Glad-wrap holding what used to be a milk arrowroot biscuit with butter — his daughter’s snack, crushed to dust by some heavy hand. Danny Levi owned up. He copped it proper.
“What?!?! ” Reidy snorted. And looking back, he did. When Levi finally made his NRL debut, one of the first guys he thanked was Reidy — alongside his partner in crime back then, Craig Smith.
Danny’s still going around today over in the Super League, built on the hard lessons learned from those two. Craig Smith — former hardman known to us as Bull — is another one who came to the Knights and dug in for good. When players needed encouragement to drag themselves out of bed, extras after training, or found themselves in trouble late on a Saturday night — Reidy and Bull were always on the job.
We had some genuinely talented kids in that group, with more than twenty going on to play NRL, and we even finished minor premiers. But looking back, I reckon those two men had without doubt the biggest influence on the team—and on the men those boys became. I was just a blow-in for a couple of years. Reidy and Bull, though?
They’re the keepers of the keys. They were there years before I rolled into town, and they’re still there. Watching from the lounge room after that epic win against the Panthers, the camera stopped on young Cody Hopwood being embraced by a Knights staffer. It was Reidy.
It makes you think about how many kids he has helped reach for their dreams since 1989 —over sixty in my short stint alone. I’ve spoken to guys from that team like Joe Tapine and Josh King about the influence of Reidy and Bull, and they’ll tell you: you only truly understand it later in your career.
I asked Bull about Reidy, and what he told me still gives me a chuckle because I knew if I’d asked Reidy about Bull, I would’ve got the exact same answer: “Footy is Mick’s life,” Bull said.
“Although he is the angriest man on the planet, he lives and breathes it. He has the highest expectations of all players and coaches, and none higher than the expectations on himself. As a mate, he’s fiercely loyal. All heart and soul.
” That’s the bloke. He’s the beating heart of the Knights, and with the club back in the Grand Final this week, you can bet he’s frothing. All that hard work under the grandstands, the bickie wrappers, the early mornings, the tough love — it’s all built for a week like this.
When Sandon Smith raced away in the Knights number 7 jumper to score his second try, the replays immediately went up of the old boys in tears — Matty and Joey Johns on TV, Kurt Gidley and Chris Houston in the stands, and Danny Buderus right out there on the field. They say it takes a village to raise a child. In Newcastle, it takes a whole town to build a team.
And if the Knights get dragged into deep water during this Grand Final, they’ll know exactly what to do. They’ve already been there before, thanks to blokes who wouldn’t let them sink.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Newcastle Knights reach 2026 NRL grand final, face Sydney RoostersThe Newcastle Knights will meet the Sydney Roosters in the 2026 NRL grand final after a dramatic preliminary final win over the Penrith Panthers, their first decider in 25 years.
Read more »
Newcastle Knights Fans Get Direct Trains to NRL Grand Final in SydneyThousands of Newcastle Knights fans will travel to Sydney for the NRL grand final after extra direct trains were announced, easing fears over weekend trackworks.
Read more »
Newcastle Knights Stun Penrith Panthers in NRL Preliminary FinalThe Newcastle Knights beat the Penrith Panthers in a dramatic NRL preliminary final, setting up a grand final against the Sydney Roosters after a historic comeback.
Read more »
NRL grand final: Newcastle Knights face Sydney Roosters as neutrals weigh class warfareThe Newcastle Knights meet the Sydney Roosters in the NRL grand final, with the Knights chasing a first premiership in 25 years and the Roosters aiming to spoil the party.
Read more »