Adam O’Brien’s time at the Knights is set to come to an end after this weekend – and now he doesn’t get to realise the fruits of his own labour.

Six years he has been at the helm, and in that time Knights powerbrokers have set the club up for future success, with the help of the Wests Group as lucrative sponsors.

They’re in a position to unveil a huge boarding house to facilitate talent joining the club in the youth ranks from all around Australia, and the facility is incredible.

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The Knights’ centre of excellence was also finished in 2022.

All of this is to say the Newcastle club has enjoyed a wholesale overhaul between now and the year O’Brien arrived – but the new coach will reap the benefits.

The Knights are an attractive prospect for potential coaching candidates, and a solid squad is only one factor to be considered for the reasons listed above.

Marquee star Kalyn Ponga will be joined by Dylan Brown ahead of the 2026 season, then throw in the mix guns like Dylan Lucas, Dane Gagai, Bradman Best and Tyson Frizell.

Then there’s young stars Fletcher Sharpe, Jermain McEwen, Thomas Cant, Fletcher Hunt and many more that have shown they’ve got first grade written all over them.

No squad that welcomes a new coach is ever the finished product. They wouldn’t be looking for a fresh mentor if they were.

But with a new coach comes a fresh start, which will be as good as a holiday for the club’s big-name stars.

Adding to the club’s credentials is Peter O’Sullivan.

He is one of the NRL’s sharpest recruitment minds, and you only have to look at his recent clubs to see his methods work.

The Warriors and Dolphins have both had impressive seasons, and O’Sullivan was instrumental in making sure those squads have depth.

Kristian Woolf’s side have been decimated this year with injuries, but are still in the mix for the finals in part due to O’Sullivan’s influence.

He’s already began sourcing players to fill gaps, or the gaping voids left by the departures of Leo Thompson and Kai Pearce-Paul.

He also was able to negotiate new deals for Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai, at a veteran’s price, while letting other players depart.

It was a tough call to sack their head coach, especially for O’Brien who has helped the Knights punch above their weight in recent years.

But with a club-wide facelift, a new figurehead at the forefront could be the final missing piece for Newcastle fans to finally enjoy a team that can compete for a title.

So who could that coach be?

I have one criteria when it comes to picking a new mentor – have you coached your own team?

You wouldn’t let someone behind the wheel of an expensive car if you haven’t driven by yourself before, so why make someone a head coach in the NRL who has never experienced managing a team at any level.

Blake Green, who has been O’Brien’s assistant, has never managed his own squad, while Dean Young is another name who has been floated.

But for me, Justin Holbrook is the obvious choice.

Should he get the job, it’d be a reunion of sorts after he played for the Knights in 1999 and 2000, being Andrew Johns’ halves understudy.

What’s more is his tenure at the Titans has been proven to be solid in hindsight, if you look at Des Hasler’s struggles since taking over at the start of the 2024 season.

Holbrook took a Titans side, and one that’s arguably not as strong as the current roster, to the finals in 2021 and were a Patrick Herbert pass way from beating the Roosters.

He is also renowned as an analytical thinker and that could prove crucial in unlocking Brown as a halfback, who has only boosted his stocks with his current Eels situation.

The multi-milliondollar recruit has a host of things in his personal life he is currently dealing with, which meant making an early move to Newcastle wasn’t the right decision.

He then lost his spot under Jason Ryles, but didn’t kick stones and slotted into the centres when called upon.

That attitude doesn’t go unnoticed, especially for a Knights fan base that pride themselves on being hard working, no nonsense people.

Holbrook will also have a clean slate with his playing group, which allows new leaders to step up and take charge in the Hunter.

Players like Bradman Best, Dylan Lucas and Fletcher Sharpe could begin to shape the club how they want it, not how the leadership group under O’Brien saw it.

That’s not to discount the impact of leaders like Dane Gagai and Tyson Frizell, but new leaders have to emerge so there’s no void left when they eventually depart.

You only have to look as far as the Raiders to see how young players can have an impact.

Ricky Stuart has been able to maintain his relationships with veterans, like Josh Papalii, and give them clear roles.

Then young guns like Ethan Strange, Savelio Tamale, Kaeo Weekes and many more have been able to flourish and become leaders in their own right.

But that’s just one puzzle to solve for the incoming coach.

Overall, the Knights have put everything in place to make coaching the Newcastle powerhouse an interesting proposition.

WHY DCE’S ROOSTERS MOVE IS A BARGAIN

You tell me another elite playmaker that is earning $500,000 per season?

That’s the figure Daly Cherry-Evans is reportedly set to earn on his one-year deal to land at the Roosters, with a second year in his deal to move into the club’s coaching ranks.

NRL playmakers generally earn north of $700,000 and the best, like Cherry-Evans, are consistently million dollar players.

So tell me how signing a man of Cherry-Evans’ experience and stature in the game for a third of Kalyn Ponga’s salary is a bad move?

The Roosters this season have been solid and young guns like Hugo Savala, Salesi Foketi and Blake Steep have stood up.

But the reality is, young players have a shelf life.

Most players can’t sustain a 27 round NRL season, having already competed so hard in the pre-season just to put themselves in the frame to play first grade.

This isn’t to say that Savala hasn’t been great alongside Sam Walker, and their combination will only get better.

However, it’s desperately hard for Savala, in his rookie and sophomore NRL years, to play at an elite level that could steer the Roosters to a premiership.

Cherry-Evans has been there, won that.

His signing also proves to be more than just a reshaping of the Tricolours’ halves – it also adds depth and we’ve seen just how important that is across the competition this year.

Savala will likely slot into the utility role, but he will almost certainly be called upon to start in the halves at some point in 2026.

Look at the Broncos and the signing of Ben Hunt, another elite playmaker on top of Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam.

That recruitment call has proved to be the best decision the club has made in recent years, considering what has happened to Michael Maguire’s side on the injury front.

It’s saved their season.

For $500,000 you get someone like Cherry-Evans whose role will be less demanding at the Roosters behind a talented forward pack, which I believe is considerably stronger than the Manly pack.

It’s a good signing and almost every NRL club would take that deal for a player of Cherry-Evans’ stature.