McLean was given a seven match suspension as a result. Later in Round 19, the NRL held the 'Rise for Alex Round', where for every ticket sold, $1 would be donated to McKinnon to assist with his continuous medical bills and rehabilitation funds. McKinnon accompanied the Knights in their loss against the Gold Coast Titans. On 7 July 2015 coach Rick Stone was sacked after a string of disappointing results, and Danny Buderus would coach for the remainder of the 2015 season. In round 26 against the Panthers in Penrith, Newcastle went down 30-12 to claim their second wooden spoon. On 9 September 2015, the Knights signed Nathan Brown to a 3-year contract to coach starting from 2016. During the 2016 season, the Knights debuted 11 players in the NRL, while losing co-captain Tariq Sims midway through to year to go to St. George Illawarra. Against Cronulla in round 10, Newcastle was defeated 62-0, their biggest defeat at home and second biggest defeat in history. Newcastle would only win one game all year, to claim the wooden spoon for a second consecutive season, and third overall.  2017 was the Knights' 30th year in the NRL, however it was another disappointing season for Newcastle as they finished last again, claiming their third wooden spoon in a row. In December 2017, the Newcastle Knights expressed their interest in applying for a licence to participate in the inaugural NRL Women's season. On 1 November 2017, the club was sold to Wests Group, a Newcastle-based not for profit club, after being administered by the NRL since the departure of Nathan Tinkler. The following season marked a resurgence for the club, with the arrivals of high profile halfback Mitchell Pearce, sought after rookie fullback Kalyn Ponga, as well as Queensland Origin representative Aidan Guerra and several other players. New recruit Mitchell Pearce kicked a field goal in golden point extra time to win the opening round of 2018 at home against long time rivals Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The team started the season strongly, winning 5 of their opening 8 games to sit comfortably inside the top 8. However, with a long term injury to Mitchell Pearce, the side won only 4 of their remaining 12 matches to finish 11th.  2019 saw the arrival of forwards David Klemmer and Tim Glasby, boosting the team's forward pack. After winning their opening match, Newcastle lost 5 consecutive games before reversing their fortunes with 5 consecutive victories to reach 4th place. In 1988, the "Newcastle Knights" were re-established to represent rugby league in the Hunter region once more.