Knights coach: Holbrook to replace O’Brien at spooners

The Newcastle Knights have found their next head coach, with the club preparing to appoint Justin Holbrook to guide them in the 2026 season and beyond as they look to peel away from the bottom of the table.

Holbrook has been working for the Sydney Roosters as an assistant coach for some time, and most recently helmed the Gold Coast Titans as top boss from 2020 through to 2023 before being sacked.

The Roosters gave Holbrook their blessing to head north and take up the head coaching role.

The 49-year-old helmsman beat several standout candidates to the job, including Dean Young and Blake Green.

Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was also linked with the Newcastle job, but The Sporting Base understands he was never really in the mix. (Cheika will now be returning to help at the Roosters heading into 2026.)

Green was an early in-house favourite, mainly because he’s already been involved with the system, but club officials decided they wanted more of a circuit breaker after the squad finished 17th with just six wins in 24 games. Some at the club were also quietly unhappy with Green’s role in the Knights’ attack; the club scored a league-low 338 points.

Young was also closely considered and had asked the St George Illawarra Dragons – where he’s an assistant coach – for an early split if he got the gig, but the Knights leaned towards proven quantity over a fledgling manager.

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It didn’t play a role in the decision, but Holbrook actually debuted with the Knights in 1999. He played five games for the Hunter club between 1999 and 2000 before moving to the Penrith Panthers and then eventually the Sydney Roosters.

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He started his coaching career at the Canterbury Bulldogs and held roles with St George Illawarra and Parramatta before eventually proving himself as an assistant alongside Trent Robinson at the Roosters. He first left the tricolours in 2017 to take up a job in England, leading St Helens to their 14th championship in his three seasons overseas.

The Titans came knocking heading into 2020, and he moved over right as COVID-19 struck the league. He helped the Gold Coast navigate the lockdowns and led the team to a finals appearance in 2021, their second since 2010.

He was eventually sacked in 2023, though many considered it a poor move from the club.

Since that sacking, he’s been back at the Roosters helping Robinson again.