NRLW 2024 market watch: Newcastle Knights finally replace two-time premiership coach

Newcastle’s exhaustive search to replace two-time premiership coach Ronald Griffiths is finally over.

Newcastle have finally announced Ben Jeffries as NRLW head coach for the next three seasons.

The ex-North Queensland coach was released from the remainder of his contract at the Cowboys in December after one season with the club.

He was linked to the vacant Knights role at the time after the NRLW premiers executed an exhaustive search for a replacement for two-time champion coach Ronald Griffiths.

Less than a month on, Jeffries was on Wednesday announced as Griffiths’ successor on a three-year contract.

He has experience coaching the Indigenous Women’s All Stars team and the PNG women’s national team, as well as his season with the Cowboys in 2023.

“Ben is an accomplished coach, with a proven track record in pathways programs,” said Peter Parr, Knights’ director of football.

Ben Jeffries during PNG’s World Cup campaign. Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images

“This role requires a multi-faceted skill set, as we continue to strive for success on the field, in conjunction with further developing a gold standard pathways program.

“Ben provides us with what we were looking for and we have no doubt the Knights NRLW program will continue to grow under his coaching.”

The role is the most coveted in the NRLW competition given the Knights’ superstar roster and two consecutive NRLW premierships.

It’s an ideal fit for Jeffries, who was born and raised in Forster and played lower grades with the Knights in the early 2000s before going on to make his NRL debut with St George Illawarra in 2001.

However, it leaves the Cowboys without an NRLW coach heading into their second season of the women’s competition.

They’re the only club without a head coach with the season to start in July.

Originally published as NRLW 2024 market watch: Newcastle Knights finally replace two-time premiership coach