Justin Holbrook future at St Helens hangs in the balance

Drew Darbyshire 12 Jul 2019 10:28 PM

Justin Holbrook believes a decision will be made on his future as St Helens head coach within the next couple of weeks.

The Australian’s deal as Saints boss expires at the end of the season, but the Super League leaders are keen to extend Holbrook’s contract.

But with NRL sides Gold Coast Titans and Canterbury Bulldogs reportedly looking at Holbrook, his future remains up in the air.

Saints beat rivals Wigan 32-10 on Friday night and the home fans were signing ‘Justin Holbrook, we want you stay’ after the full-time hooter sounded.

Speaking after the game, Holbrook said: “I’ve got no update from the other day.

“I appreciate the fans and it was great to hear them singing my name after the game, it gets me a bit emotional after the game, that’s for sure.

“I’ve got no update, so we will see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

“I don’t get distracted at all and I don’t think I ever will to be honest. I love what I do, I love the position I’m in and I’m always going to enjoy it.

“It’s great [to be wanted] and I’ve got the players to thank for that because of how well they are playing. They make my job easier.”

Saints captain James Roby was set to make his comeback in the derby after having groin surgery but pulled out the day before the match.

Young back-rower James Bentley filled Roby’s role at hooker, and Holbrook liked what he saw of Bentley.

He added: “Robes trained with us this week and he wanted to play as expected but it was the smarter decision to leave him out.

“The reason why he got an operation was so he could play pain-free and if he would have played then he would have been in discomfort, so we decided not to take that risk this week.

“Bentos is playing great at the moment. He is competing so hard and it’s great to have him in the side.”