Jon Wilkin has said former St Helens coach Justin Holbrook would be the ‘right man’ to replace Daryl Powell as Head Coach at Warrington, something that the bookmakers seem to agree with given that they’ve made Holbrook favourite for the job in a market that includes former Wigan Warriors boss Michael Maguire.
Wilkin has plenty of experience working with Justin Holbrook. The pair worked together during their time at St Helens before Wilkin’s move to Toronto Wolfpack in 2019.
Speaking today on Sky Sports Rugby League Verdict, Wilkin said: “I think Justin Holbrook would be the right man. I’ll tell you this because Justin Holbrook came in to coach me at St Helens at a time in which we were a big club and we were sort of wandering around a bit.
“We were 4th, 5th in the league and Justin just got us all, simplified everything, got us all excited to be at work. It’s such basic stuff, but what he did is he made training fun again, he made coming to work fun again and I think that’s what Warrington need.”
He added: “Everything is so serious down there, like it’s just a game. You get paid to play a game. It’s got to be fun; it should be fun. It’s a real privilege to play sport professionally but it won’t feel like that for Warrington at the minute because they’re in trouble. I think Justin Holbrook would be a fantastic appointment for them.”
Justin Holbrook has plenty of experience coaching in Super League. He coached St Helens for three years prior to his move to the Titans, taking charge mid-way through the 2017 season. Under Holbrook, the Saints would start their dominance over the League, winning the 2019 Grand Final, the first on their road to four titles in a row.
Whilst Holbrook is the odds on favourite to succeed Powell in the coaches box, Wilkin has suggested another possible replacement, in the form of Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley.
“I think the last few weeks a name that’s been mentioned to me quite often by a number of sources is Paul Rowley from Salford.
“I know that won’t go down very well with people at Salford but obviously he’s doing a cracking job there.”
