Ex-St Helens and Huddersfield Giants coach under pressure

Nathan Brown is said to be feeling the pressure in the NRL after the New Zealand Warriors appointed Stacey Jones as assistant coach – with Australian sources believing he is being earmarked for the head coaching role.

The Warriors have also brought in recruitment expert Peter O’Sullivan from the Redcliffe Dolphins, with current assistant Craig Hodges moving to become the general manager of football.

Jones is a New Zealand and New Zealand Warriors legend, who registered 277 games for the Warriors across two stints between 1994 and 2005, and again in 2009.

He also made 48 Test appearances for New Zealand and has had a small bout of head coaching experience when he took the reins of the Maori All Stars in 2019.

Brown coached the Huddersfield Giants between 2009 and 2012, guiding the Giants to a Challenge Cup Final in 2009 and winning 76 games from 131 for a 58% win average – a statistic that earned him a move to St Helens ahead of the 2013 Super League season.

From there, Brown took Saints to Grand Final victory in his last season in the UK in 2014, as he departed back to his native Australia for family reasons.

A coaching consultant role at the Melbourne Storm followed, before Brown took on the main coaching role at Newcastle Knights where he finished bottom twice in two years.