Daryl Powell became the second man to be dismissed from his role as head coach in the 2023 Super League season after Lee Radford departed Castleford Tigers back in round three.
Warrington’s loss to Wakefield Trinity on Sunday afternoon was the straw that broke the camel’s back with the club pulling the trigger on Powell just four hours after the final hooter sounded at Belle Vue, the 42-6 defeat marking a sixth straight loss for the Wolves.
Claims by Powell that there was “no crisis” at the club obviously fell on deaf ears as by 9pm the club announced his dismissal with a statement that also explained that the hunt for a new head coach would commence immediately.
What followed was a flurry of speculation regarding who will be the next man to take the helm at the Halliwell Jones with Warrington’s playoff hopes looking less and less likely as the weeks pass by.
That is in spite of the fact that Warrington do actually remain inside the top six but only by two points and with the likes of Salford Red Devils and Leeds Rhinos leading the chase behind them.
With no major British names out of work at the moment the speculation centred around Australia with former St Helen coach Justin Holbrook the man that most Wire fans seemed to want.
Holbrook led St Helens to their Grand Final victory in 2019 which marked the start of their current run of dominance.
Having been sacked earlier in the season by the Gold Coast Titan, Holbrook is available and there have been reports of him speaking with Super League clubs, most recently by ‘The Mole’ who tweeted late last night about the situation.
Is Justin Holbrook the man to take over @WarringtonRLFC ?#YES
— The Mole (@9_Moley) July 30, 2023
Holbrook has since been installed as the bookmaker’s favourite with Betfred, the Super League’s sponsor, opening a market on who will be the ‘Next Permanent Warrington Coach’.
Holbrook is favourite at 6/4 but is closely followed by former St George Illawarra Dragons boss Anthony Griffin who is just 2/1.
Griffin was another NRL coaching casualty this season so should Warrington look down under for applicants with head coaching experience then it’s no surprise to see Holbrook and Griffin top the market.
Justin Morgan was heavily suggested for the Castleford Tigers job and he features again at a price of 7/1, just behind current Newcastle Knights’ boss Adam O’Brien who is at a price of 6/1.
Club legend Lee Briers, who is currently an assistant at second placed Brisbane Broncos, is priced at 10/1 whilst former Hull FC boss Brett Hodgson comes in at 12s although he has been involved in union more so of late.
Two former Warrington bosses feature in the market with current Hull FC boss and Warrington’s most successful Super League era boss in Tony Smith being a 20/1 shot, whilst the man Powell replaced in Steve Price is another 12/1 shot.
Another few interesting candidates include England boss Shaun Wane (16/1), Huddersfield head coach Ian Watson (33/1) and former Wire player Kevin Brown (100/1).
A full list of prices can be seen below:
Justin Holrbook – 6/4
Anthony Griffin – 2/1
Adam O’Brien – 6/1
Justin Morgan – 7/1
Richard Marshall – 9/1
Lee Briers – 10/1
Brett Hodgson – 12/1
Steve Price – 12/1
Shaun Wane – 16/1
Tony Smith – 20/1
Michael Monaghan – 25/1
Ian Watson – 33/1
Kevin Brown – 100/1
John Kear – 100/1
Salford Red Devils
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