The Newcastle Knights enter the 2026 NRL season looking to avoid another wooden spoon after finishing last in 2025. With Justin Holbrook the new coach and high-profile signing Dylan Brown driving their campaign, the club will be aiming to not finish last again.
Season Preview
While Newcastle had a horrible 2025, they didn’t claim the wooden spoon until the final round. The Gold Coast’s win over the Wests Tigers meant the Knights had to beat a resurgent Parramatta in the final game of the regular season: the Eels led 34-4 at half-time and won 66-10.
Though there are small signs of hope for the Knights: they have Justin Holbrook as their new coach (replacing Adam O’Brien) and Dylan Brown is coming off an excellent Pacific Championships for New Zealand (and should have won the Golden Boot). They also signed Canberra’s Trey Mooney and lost Leo Thompson (Bulldogs), Jayden Brailey (Raiders), Kai Pearce-Paul (Wests Tigers), Jack Cogger (Panthers), Taj Annan (rugby union), Tyrone Thompson (rugby union), Jack Hetherington (Storm), and Adam Elliott (Rabbitohs).
Holbrook has a lot of work ahead to dig the Knights out of the cellar. While all the focus will be on Brown, expect more distracting headlines around Kalyn Ponga if Newcastle struggles, with the usual rumours that he’s heading to {insert team or code here}. Ponga can keep the haters quiet with a solid and mostly injury-free season. Though expect the fans to turn up and support their boys: outside of the glamourous Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle fans are the hardiest and the most dedicated in the NRL, averaging 20,884 in 2025 (despite only two home wins). And while Newcastle’s attack was mostly awful, they showed glimpses of what they can do, with a 30-4 Magic Round win over South Sydney, a 25-6 win over an Origin-depleted Penrith, and a 26-22 comeback win against Manly. Though this was cancelled out by two big losses to the Gold Coast (squandering a 20-0 lead in round 10) and nine straight losses to finish the season.
Best Signing
Dylan Brown
While this is the obvious choice, it’s obvious for a reason. There’s been plenty of critics of Brown’s massive Newcastle deal, though it didn’t seem to worry him as he accepted being briefly dropped from Parramatta’s first grade side, returned, and then had an excellent Pacific Championships. While it’s unfair to pin all of Newcastle’s hopes and dreams on him (along with the regularly maligned Ponga), the massive price tag brings pressure. Can Brown respond?
Key Player
Dominic Young
The Englishman had a eventful 2025, leaving the Sydney Roosters halfway through the season (after 31 games since 2024) to re-join the Knights. Young played the final 10 games at Newcastle, scoring four tries, which suggests he made the right move by returning. But will Young back this up in 2026? He’ll need to if the Knights are to improve their poor attack and offload the spoon. Another motivator is the World Cup, with Young likely to be a key member of England’s squad.
Player to Watch
Trey Mooney
Most Canberra Raiders fans would regard Trey Mooney as talented but unlucky. He played 25 games in four seasons at Canberra (including 16 in 2024) and was stuck behind their elite forward pack. Newcastle fans are used to seeing the Raiders sign their best players (with Jayden Brailey the latest to leave), so they’d love that the Knights get one back. Surely Mooney will be an important part of Newcastle’s forward pack and can finally show everyone how talented he is?
Draw Analysis
Newcastle start the season in Las Vegas, playing North Queensland. Newcastle fans will see plenty of sunshine in 2026, with nine home games played on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Surely this will be an invitation to play some expansive footy and score more points than in 2025? They play on Easter Sunday afternoon against Canberra, an ANZAC Round Sunday game afternoon game against Penrith, and their traditional Old Boys game against Manly in round 25 (and coming up to the 30th anniversary of the 1997 ARL Grand Final). And they have only three trips outside of NSW after Vegas: Magic Round and round 22 in Brisbane, and Auckland in round 26, followed by a final round bye.
Big Questions
- How quickly can Holbrook rebuild the Knights?
- Will Brown have an immediate impact?
- Can Newcastle avoid a Las Vegas hangover?
Predicted Finish
Miss top 8
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Related Items
- 🔁 2025 Season Review: https://rugbyleaguezone.com/newcastle-knights-2025-season-review-and-statistical-breakdown/
- 📅 2026 Draw & Fixtures: https://rugbyleaguezone.com/newcastle-knights-2026-nrl-fixtures-squad-list-and-player-signings/
