After a tough season that gave the club and fans little to cheer about, Newcastle Knights coach Adam O'Brien faces a huge challenge to lift his side out of the doldrums, knowing full well his future in the coaching ranks will hinge on results next season.

In this exclusive final Toohey's News podcast for 2022, O'Brien reflects on what went wrong and his plans to turn up the intensity at training during the 2023 pre-season in a bid to bring the best out of his squad next year.

O'Brien also talks about the captaincy of million dollar man Kalyn Ponga and the possibility of a positional switch next season and also of his plans for veteran centre Dane Gagai.

The podcast also answers fans' questions and looks at the Newcastle Rugby League grandfinal between Maitland and Macquarie.

Search "Toohey's News: The Podcast" on your preferred podcast app to listen to the full episode now.

Have your say or suggest a guest for an upcoming episode by contributing a rating and review in your Apple Podcasts app, or get in touch via email at news@newcastleherald.com.au.

Find Toohey's News: The Podcast on: Overcast, Stitcher, PocketCasts, Castro, RadioPublic, Breaker, TuneIn, CastBox, iHeartRadio

Barry Toohey will bring a new episode to all your favourite podcasting apps every week, complementing his premium and exclusive Knights reporting and analysis in the pages of the Newcastle Herald.

Toohey's News will be back with another episode on Thursday.