Knights coach Justin Holbrook – he’s come a long way. And Canberra was an important stop on that journey. Image: Screenshot.
A Wikipedia search shows no mention of Justin Holbrook’s time in Canberra as coach of the Gungahlin Bulls in 2008.
Given his influence on the Bulls and the Canberra Raiders Cup, his time here should be up in lights.
Holbrook, who arrived in the city at the end of a successful five-year captain-coach stint with the Dapto Canaries in 2007, had ostensibly moved on from rugby league.
He came to Canberra as a soft drink rep with no intention of playing or coaching. Instead, he focused on building a career beyond sport.
The Gungahlin Bulls, who had an incredibly successful run in the early 2000s, were looking for a new coach after finishing sixth in 2007.
Holbrook’s move to Canberra caught the Bulls’ attention, and they approached him, raising the possibility of a captain-coach role with the first-grade side.
He wasn’t interested in playing given he had just taken on his first full-time position beyond rugby league, but the prospect of continuing as a coach scratched an itch.
In that 2008 season, Holbrook transformed the Bulls, with his ability to communicate with the playing group one of his strengths.
As a coach in his early 30s, armed with a club-first mentality, he raised the level of all grades within the Bulls.
In 2008, Holbrook took his young team, which included under-18 forwards Mark Nicholls and Paul Vaughan, to the Canberra Raiders Cup Grand Final.
The Bulls’ path wasn’t easy, as injuries to star players Pat Clarke, Tim Weyman and Tim Donovan effectively crippled the team. Twenty-two-year-old Josh Ayres was appointed captain.
On grand final day at Seiffert Oval, the Queanbeyan Blues beat Gungahlin 42-18 as the Bulls battled on despite their depleted stocks.
In 2008 the Bulls made the first-grade grand final, won the under-18s premiership, and were named club champions.
Justin Holbrook was named Canberra Raiders Cup Coach of the Year.
The Bulls were obviously keen to keep Holbrook beyond 2008, but his success in one season with Gungahlin attracted interest from the Canterbury Bulldogs, and he joined their coaching staff in 2009.
His career as a soft drink rep was over, and the rest is history, with Holbrook the favourite to be named NRL Coach of the Year after taking the Knights from the wooden spoon to the decider in one season.
There is also the question of what might have been if he hadn’t taken up the Bulls’ offer in 2007.
