Inside Holbrook's Newcastle rebuild as Knights eye long-term success

Saturday's trial will be followed by a clash with the Bulldogs at McDonald Jones Stadium on February 14 before the Knights travel to Las Vegas for a season-opener against the Cowboys. 

The match marks Holbrook's return to head coaching, two and a half years after he was controversially sacked by the Titans. 

The move turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The experienced mentor enjoyed a successful stint as Roosters attack coach, while Gold Coast endured two disastrous years under Des Hasler. 

A former Newcastle halfback, Holbrook has made community connection the centre of everything he's done this summer. 

The first-grade squad has travelled up and down the Hunter and north coast region holding fan days and interacting with loyal supporters. The coach spent his 50th birthday 100 metres underground in a coal mine, highlighting to his players the backbone of the working-class region his team represents.

For a region that has given so much to the Knights, club officials recognise the men's team has failed to deliver on the field in recent years. It's a situation Holbrook is desperate to change. 

"This community is a big part of this club," he said. "When you're a one-team town, you become a really important piece of the region. 

"The Knights are the closest NRL club to how it feels in England in the hardworking areas in the north of England. They all love their rugby league and Newcastle is very similar to that. 

"They love rugby league and will turn up for us every week so it's up to us to have a good understanding of who we're playing for and perform for them."

Holbrook's arrival at Newcastle comes amid a wider overhaul of the club's operations. Peter Parr was appointed to the newly created role of CEO of the Knights football team, with experienced administrator Chris James replacing Parr as director of football in November. 

It was recently announced that Alex McKinnon had returned to the club in a new pathways recruitment role.

More broadly, the Knights have regained vast swaths of rugby league territory in the Upper Hunter, mid-north coast and New England regions, resulting in a massive expansion of their junior catchment and pathways structures.

The long-term goal is to turn Newcastle back into a development club, in a similar model to the one successfully used by the Panthers in recent years. 

"We all know how big our region is up here," Holbrook said. "We wish we'd be able to put together a full NRL side from our region. You're always going to have to recruit from the outside a little bit so it's about making sure the outside guys have a big impact if they're going to come in here. 

"We've got to look after our region first and a lot of things have been put in place to make sure we get that right to get up into those top few clubs and stay up there."

With the NRL season rapidly approaching, Holbrook still has plenty of questions to answer before Newcastle open their campaign under the bright lights of Las Vegas. 

Fletcher Sharpe and Sandon Smith are in a shootout for the right to partner Dylan Brown in the halves at Allegiant Stadium. 

The duo will line up in Saturday's trial, while Brown will make his first appearance in a Knights jumper against the Bulldogs next weekend. 

Captain and star fullback Kalyn Ponga will sit out the Pre-Season Challenge before returning to the field in Las Vegas, with his health set to play a key role in the side's chances this year.

While many fans have written off the Knights, Holbrook has his sights on a top-eight finish this season. It's a journey that starts at Jubilee Oval on Saturday night.

"All 17 teams want to play finals and we're no different," Holbrook said. "You want to win a competition and there's no reason why we can't work towards it. 

"That's why we're here so you want to play in the finals to give yourself a chance."