Justin Holbrook discussion

Macca182 said:
I have a good feeling about our next few years
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Defence wins games said:
There has been a fair few bumpy years in our following of the Knights since they entered the big league.
I feel a bit gun shy about making any predictions or even daring to think of a new era of success.
All we have at the moment is hope.
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Macca182 said:
It may well be the whiskey talking but something feels good about Holbrook being the coach. I guess time will tell
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After too long of the same rubbish, it’s hard not to be optimistic.
I was seriously thinking of having next year off rugby league next year because I was so frustrated with how bad we were.
All off a sudden, the spark has been reignited and I can’t wait for next year.
My brother in law is a Titans fan and when they sacked Holbrook then, I said I was disappointed with their decision.
Now he’s at the Knights, I think we will see a good improvement with the roster we have. I’m not going to go too far and say top 4, but I’ll be surprised if we aren’t in the 8.
 
Look watching how slick the ball movement of Cronulla is in shape, despite Kennedy being a pretty limited ball player, then factoring in we just added two halves who’ve played well in sides known for slick ball movement, to play with Kalyn Ponga…

… if Holbrook, the Roosters attack coach, can’t at the very least get something good going in attack with that then yes I will concede there is just something fundamentally wrong at the club.
 
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Episode 67: NRL FINALS WEEK 2 PREVIEW

Podcast Episode · Sixes & Sevens · 17/09/2025 · 45m
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Enjoyed hearing Mitchell Pearce’s perspective on the Holbrook appointment as a player who was there for both Browny and AOB and has played under Holbrook during his first assistant stint at the Roosters.

The summary is basically that he thinks they did need a coach like AOB in 2020 to bring a better defensive mindset & systems, lift training standards, etc, but he suspects he burned the players out. He thinks what’s needed now is a lighter touch from a more creative attacking mind and buys into Justin providing that.

Obviously he’s not gonna say “yeah nah he’s ****” though.
 
On the sharpe brown halves thing, im going to be really suprised if he goes that way. If that doesnt deliver very early on the pressure is going to mount very quickly from the outside for 2 reasons.
- brown out of position and failing to control a team
- speculation holbrook isnt making the decisions as this was ex staffs plan.

We either have to commit to SS at 7 longterm and give him the keys or start preparing to buy a halfback for 2028 and move kp on.
 
Didn’t think about that angle but yeah identifying Sandon as his 7 is a flag Holbrook can plant right away - this is his team.

Either way, four year deal - that’s a decent term commitment that takes us to what you’d expect is the start of his prime.
 
It’s hard to decide how we will go in 26 and what our team set up will be, spine that is.
Like most if not all am hopeful of a big improvement, personally hoping for a 7-10 finish but at least hoping for a few places clear of spoon, nice to go into last 4-5 clear of the dreaded and with better hopes for 27. No matter what I expect 27 to be better than 26.
Not expecting anything dramatic from the spine, time is needed for new Coach and players to work each other out.
My expectations are mainly in the forward pack, our back 1-5 seem settled and experienced but our pack is a mixture of experience, rising stars and future prospects.
Hooker is biggest worry with Crossland likely and capable but backup is light on with a year or two experience required. Hope we blend the young up and coming with careful selection so that they play limited minutes of the bench to gain that further development and experience. Have been impressed with McEwen and Hopwood especially along with ESL but hope they are used more to fill bench spots while continuing development, obviously they will start in some matches depending on progress and injuries.
I hope Sharpe comes back fit and well for start of season and we are in the great position of selecting our back 5 out of 6. Hunt was overused in 25 due to injuries I hope he is given time in Cup to further develop his game, very young.
I am feeling very hopeful for coming seasons, go the Knights
 
It has been very obvious in the final series how any disruption to your spine can pretty much ruin your game. Canberra last night and the Dogs today just didn't look competitive. We need to decide on our spine as the number one priority and then try not to change any positions. I don't know how many different 6, 7 and 9 combinations we have had over the last six years. but lets hope that is behind us now.
 
I hope the club has an upgrade plan in mind for Smith.

If he is here on a fairly cheap deal for a 7, and we play him there and he unlocks our attack.

Pretty soon going to have rumblings about his deal not being sufficient and that tends to lead to the player requesting a release on compassionate grounds.

We have him cheap to essentially trial him long term and see how he can go for us, but going to need to stump up quite a bit more before the end of the 4 years to keep him if he goes well.

But the club is certainly heading in the right direction.
 
The transition between 2027 and 28 is the key hinge point for how the cap is allocated. I don’t think the rumblings will start right away if Sandon goes well.
 
Frank McWilliams said:
It’s hard to decide how we will go in 26 and what our team set up will be, spine that is.
Like most if not all am hopeful of a big improvement, personally hoping for a 7-10 finish but at least hoping for a few places clear of spoon, nice to go into last 4-5 clear of the dreaded and with better hopes for 27. No matter what I expect 27 to be better than 26.
Not expecting anything dramatic from the spine, time is needed for new Coach and players to work each other out.
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Yes, ive said that a 6 to 12 finish will be massive for us next year.
I cant see us getting the spoon again. Cant really see us turning it around that quick that all of a sudden we are a top 4 side.
If we can just be a consistent team where the gap between out best and worse performances are not miles apart i rekon that will be a win and a good start to be able to mix it with the big teams in 2027
 
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