Matty Johns has revealed his two leading candidates for the vacant head coach position at the Newcastle Knights and the one \u201cleft of centre\u201d option which even he concedes is a \u201cbig risk\u201d.<\/p>\n
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n Adam O\u2019Brien fronted the media on Thursday to confirm a \u201cmutual separation\u201d from the club<\/a> at season\u2019s close despite being contracted to the Knights until the end of 2028.<\/p>\n News of O\u2019Brien\u2019s looming departure was quickly followed by speculation as to who could take over, with attacking coach Blake Green looming as the likely replacement while Justin Holbrook, Willie Peters and Brad Arthur have also been floated as options. <\/p>\n Johns singled out Holbrook and Peters as the two he would \u201clook at\u201d while also offering up a left-field alternative that he thinks is \u201cworth a chat\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Willie Peters has done an incredible job over at Hull Kingston Rovers,\u201d the former premiership-winning Knights five-eighth said on \u2018The Late Show with Matty Johns\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cWhether he wants to come back or not, I\u2019m not sure. He\u2019s got experience over there. He\u2019s built that side. He\u2019s been an assistant at Newcastle, he knows the town.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other one is Justin Holbrook. Justin had a lot of success at St Helens, won a title over there, had a win rate at 80 per cent and when you look back sometimes you\u2019re in a better position to judge a job that a coach does in hindsight and when you look at what he was doing at the Titans you actually realise he was doing a good job.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you the other bloke I would interview if I was the Newcastle Knights: Michael Cheika. I would do it. He\u2019s always harboured an ambition to coach in rugby league. <\/p>\n \u201cOne thing about Michael Cheika, these days you\u2019ve always got really good assistants around you and I think more than Xs and Os, in the modern age what defines coaches is the ability to handle pressure and he\u2019s proven he\u2019s a great man manager and one thing he can do is handle pressure. I think he\u2019d be worth a chat.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n RUN HOME: Resting chaos not over as top four decided; who gets last finals spot<\/a><\/p>\n