Why Robbo couldn't be prouder of Holbrook

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has expressed his pride in his former assistant coach Justin Holbrook as the two battle it out for NRL Premiership glory on Sunday.

Since taking over in 2013, Robinson has become one of the competition’s greatest coaches, winning three premierships, including going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.

With his extensive coaching history and success, he has seen many of his assistants go on to become NRL coaches.

And this week, the 49-year-old is set to go up against one of those in Holbrook.

Having joined Newcastle from the Roosters this season, Holbrook has completed one of the biggest season turnarounds, having taken last year’s wooden spooners into the Grand Final from seventh place.

This has been in large part due to the reinvigoration of their attack, which comes from his work with the Roosters, with the Novocastrians averaging 25.4 points per game compared to a season low of 14.1 points.

Reflecting on his relationship with Holbrook, the 357-game coach always knew that he was capable of this type of success.

“I really believed in Justin and his coaching,” Robinson said on SEN’s Kick Off.

“It was either 2014 or 2015 I hired Justin the first time before he went to St Helens and then when he got moved on from Gold Coast. I sort of met him in a couple of weeks after that and came back again, so we've been friends for a long time and knew he's a great coach.

“It's sort of a balance between being super focused on us, my job is to win on Sunday for the Roosters and being really super proud of a guy that's done an amazing job this year.”

But when asked whether Holbrook’s previous experience with the club will give him an advantage going into the game, the former Catalans Dragons coach believes any potential advantage can be nullified by limiting their strengths.

“There are parts of it that help, and he's been in our environment for a long time as well,” he continued.

“So, there are parts of that, but to say that there's an advantage means that you don't know the other coaches.

“If you don't know the other coaches, even if you haven't spent time with them, you're missing your role. So even if I haven't spent a minute with a coach or a team, my job throughout the year is to know them intimately, so we can beat them on the weekend.”

Robinson will seek his fourth premiership title as coach on Sunday when Sydney takes on Newcastle in the 2026 NRL Grand Final at Accor Stadium on October 4.

SEN League will have live coverage of the clash alongside the NRLW Grand Final across our radio network and on the SEN app from 12pm AEDT, with kick-off taking place at 7:30pm.