Nathan Brown set to win Newcastle Knights coaching job after agreeing in principle to coach the club in 2016

FORMER Dragons mentor Nathan Brown will return to the NRL coaching ranks after agreeing in principle to join Newcastle in 2016.

SYDNEY Roosters assistant Justin Holbrook has emerged as a potential future NRL coach after narrowly missing out on the Newcastle job to Nathan Brown.

Brown will be officially named as the Knights new head coach early next week, replacing the sacked Rick Stone, with Newcastle’s board set to rubber-stamp his appointment after a recommendation from the club’s football committee following an extensive search.

“I can confirm today the club’s football committee has made a recommendation to the board that Nathan Brown be the next head coach,” CEO Matt Gidley said on Thursday.

“Our board will now get an opportunity to talk to Nathan personally and sometime next week, hopefully we will be in a position to confirm that announcement.

“Nathan is clearly excited about getting the opportunity.”

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Brown will become the club’s 10th coach following Allan McMahon, David Waite, Mal Reilly, Warren Ryan, Michael Hagan, Brian Smith, Wayne Bennett, Stone and caretaker Danny Buderus in the role.

Gidley said on Thursday that Buderus is certain to be retained in a coaching capacity under Brown.

While the former St George Illawarra and St Helens coach had been considered favourite for the job, The Daily Telegraph can reveal the appointment came down to a choice between Brown and Holbrook after South Sydney coach Michael Maguire reaffirmed his commitment to the Rabbitohs early this week.

Holbrook, a former Newcastle Knights player, replaced Wests Tigers-bound Jason Taylor on Trent Robinson’s coaching staff at the Roosters this season after having lower grade coaching experience at the Bulldogs and the Dragons.

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He was considered a “left-field” candidate because of his lack of top level coaching experience but while the likes of Anthony Griffin, Terry Matterson, Garth Brennan and Justin Morgan were also interviewed for the job, a source close to the appointment process said Brown and Holbrook were “easily the standouts”.

“They were both outstanding during the interviews,” one source said.

“But in the end, Brown’s experience and overall credentials were hard to go past.”

Brown previously coached St George Illawarra from 2003 to 2008.

The Knights had intended to keep Brown’s appointment quiet until the details of his contract were worked out over the weekend.

The club and Brown are still to negotiate a financial package and length of term for the contract.

But club chairman Brian McGuigan left his CEO Gidley out on a limb by letting the cat out of the bag on Newcastle radio early Thursday morning.

McGuigan said the club had “appointed Brown in principle”, describing him as “the appropriate man for us for the future”.

It meant Gidley was forced to later clarify the club’s position.