Matthew Johns has floated a left-field option to succeed Adam O’Brien as the new head coach of the Newcastle Knights as the club looks to find a replacement for the 2026 NRL season.
Over the past week, several names have already found themselves linked to the Knights’ head coaching gig, including Dean Young, Blake Green, Willie Peters and Justin Holbrook. Johns, who played 176 NRL games for the Knights, has added another name to the list.
Speaking on SEN 1170’s The Run Home, Johns stated that John Strange is a viable coaching candidate after leading the Sydney Roosters NRLW and Women’s NSW Blues to success.
“A bloke that never ever gets spoken about and I’m not saying he is the right man for the job here…but John Strange has coached the Roosters’ NRLW (side),” Johns said.
“I’ve said to people before that if I was at a club, when I’m looking to have some sort of coach, whether it’s a right-hand man to someone. Mate, I honestly hear that many good things about him.
“Tactically, he is very good, and regardless of whether it’s NRLW or NRL, it’s coaching. The principles are all the same.”
NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 08: Blake Green of the Newcastle Knights during the round 13 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium on August 08, 2020 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
While Blake Green is believed to be one of the leading candidates for the head coaching role, Johns admitted that he shouldn’t be handed the keys to the kingdom, given that the team has held its worst attack record since 1998 under him as the club’s attacking assistant coach.
“They cannot just hand the job to somebody. You get rare coaches that come along, but they’re not available,” Johns added.
“But I think the candidates here, there was talk that Blake Green is the frontrunner and that at one point, they were saying that it’s his job. That’s crazy.
“You just don’t hand someone who is inexperienced like Blake without having gone through a whole interview and sitting down with other guys and examining what they can do.
“And with Blake’s situation, he was the attack coach. They’re looking at having the worst attack since 1998.”