The answer is out almost before the question: what is the one thing a successful coach has to have?

"Players see straight through you if you're not honest with them," he says. "They know that as coach, you have to make hard decisions - they get that - but they won't cop it if you're not straight up with them. You have 17 different personalities in the dressing room, but they all want honesty."

After 20 years at this coaching caper, Edwards admits it has meant some awfully difficult conversations with players over the years.

"But they're things that needed to be said.

"Probably the hardest of all is when you tell a player in grand final week that he's out of the squad. They work so hard and, put so much into it, and then you snatch it away from them ... it's cruel. And it might be the smallest thing ... that the bench will have slightly better balance if you pick the other guy and not them. It's a conversation I hate, every time."

Whatever the key factors are in Edwards' undoubted success, man management lies at the very heart of it. In fact, in his eight seasons as first grade coach of Cessnock Goannas - he's announced this will be his last - he's taken them to six grand finals. And who's to say it won't be another this season?

But, like the guy selling steak knives, there's more. He coached Lakes United first grade for a season in 2018 - and got them to the grand final.

He also coached Cessnock reserve grade for two seasons - for two grand finals.

But here's the rub ... in all those deciders, there was only one victory and a whole lot of heartache.

"It's what I'll be remembered for, all those grand final losses ... it's already what I'm remembered for," he says. "And nothing we do this season will be able to change that."

For him, honesty goes both ways. It's cruel because in all those grand finals, there wouldn't be too many occasions when he had the better players.

Certainly not against the red-hot Maitland side of 2010 - "the only grand final where we were never in the game" - or those representative-laden Western Suburbs lineups.

And, despite never watching one of those losses again, he can still recall them like it was yesterday. The late try inside the last three minutes in 2008 against Wests, when his side was leading by four.

"We overchased on a kick, they turned the ball inside and ran the length to score, kicked the conversion ... beaten 16-14."

Or the equally painful two point loss to Wests in 2012. They sting to this day.

"You get in that dressing room and you feel for the players. You can see how much they're hurting and there's nothing you can do."

Even last year's grand final success, when his fledgling Goannas downed South Newcastle, has an asterisk after it. "The COVID year" when some teams didn't field teams.

He deserves better. He took a bunch of kids who were expected to make up the numbers, and worked with them until they beat every team in front of them. Asterisk or not, it was some coaching feat.

Probably Edwards' greatest strength is his ability to keep his message simple to the players. As a former front rower, he doesn't go for fancy words. "I'm not one of those coaches who pores over tapes of the team we're playing. I look at the tape but I don't spend too much time on it," he says. "For me it's mainly about getting my own team in order.

"I'm very big on the non-talent areas. Chasing a kick, or covering the inside runner ... they don't take talent, they take desire and commitment, even when your lungs are busting.

"Every first grade grade footballer has talent. But if I can get them doing the non-talent things well, then I'll show you a really good footballer. But you need your whole team to buy into it."

While he's best known as a first grade coach, Edwards has been at the coaching game since 2001.

He's had two stints with the Knights SG Ball squad as well, and sees Michael Hagan and Brian Smith, in particular, as mentors.

Because he's been around for such a long time, his phone is full of very handy rugby league contacts. Trent Robinson and Craig Fitzgibbon at the Roosters are in there, Craig Bellamy at the Storm, former Knights coach Rick Stone in Queensland, Peter Mulholland at Canberra, former Sharks coach Peter Sharp, just to name a few. It means when he's looking for players for his squad, he has a great pipeline.

After significant changes to his premiership winning squad of last season, there were a lot of gaps this year and for a while things looked grim.

Suddenly he's on the phone to a highly recommended, tough Queensland hooker in Billy Gilbert who's looking for a chance; the powerful centre Tyrone Roberts-Davis - "he's NRL quality" - links up. Scott Briggs returns and one by one the gaps are filled.

So, how did he get them all? "I was honest. I said we were looking for players like them and that I'd be happy to give them a chance, but at the end of the day it's up to them if they take it or not."

Now Cessnock are in the thick of things again, sitting third on the ladder.

It raises the question: how many very highly regarded coaches don't have a record that stacks up with Edwards?

Answer: overwhelmingly, most. He's hoping it might be good enough to get an assistant coaching role at a higher level next season. It should. If they're being honest.