Justin Holbrook declared he was “happy whichever way we went” when it comes to the Knights halves, with the trio of Dylan Brown, Fletcher Sharpe and Sandon Smith all featuring in Las Vegas.
Ahead of Newcastle’s win over the Cowboys, Holbrook’s decision to pick Brown and Sharpe as his starting halves pairing stunned many, snubbing Roosters recruit Smith who was named on the bench.
However, his decision was vindicated at Allegiant Stadium, with Sharpe playing a starring role in an early Knights barrage, scoring one and setting up another try inside 13 minutes.
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Ultimately, the 21-year-old suffered a knee injury and was ruled out of the clash prior to halftime — which saw Smith take his place alongside Brown.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Holbrook was quizzed on his halves decision and why having Smith on the bench proved crucial to securing a win.
“I didn’t actually agonize, I knew it was the most talked about point, but as I mentioned all along, I was happy whichever way we want,” he said.
“The fact Sandon (Smith) had to go there, he’d done that much training there, I was really confident and obviously (he had) a really big play in that second half.
“When he took the ball to the line and gave it on the inside to Kalyn (Ponga) for Bradman’s try, I thought it could have gone either way at that stage.
“To score off that, you know, we needed it and it was a great play from Sandon, he slotted in perfectly which we needed.”
As for Sharpe’s performance, he labelled the gun five-eighth “electrifying” after he proved exactly why Holbrook handed him a starting spot.
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“He was out there, and we looked dangerous every time, we were threatening and I thought well on top after 25 and he was a big part of that,” Holbrook said.
“I felt like our attack was threatening the whole time and to the Cowboys’ credit, they got a couple opportunities and then it back and it’s 12-all at half time.
“But yeah, ‘Sharpie’ was so good in that first 25.”
Sharpe finished the clash on the bench, and Holbrook was also hopeful his gun playmaker avoided a serious injury and instead came away from a “knee clash” second best.
“Hopefully… I’m guessing bone bruising, but hopefully it’s nothing serious,” Holbrook said.
Kalyn Ponga, meanwhile, was also excellent after enduring a disrupted pre-season and failed to attend the post-match press conference due to cramping.
The marquee fullback ended the clash with seven tackle breaks, one line break and two try assists — but was feeling the effects of his tireless display.
“Kalyn’s fine, he just couldn’t actually get here. He is cramping up in nearly his whole body… he couldn’t get up,” he said.
“Obviously I want to hive him a wrap. He had to train on his own in pre-season and kept himself super fit and to go out and play 80 minutes the way he did, that’s why he’s in a world of hurt at the moment.
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“But a big part of us winning today.”
In years gone by, Ponga has shouldered the bulk of the Knights’ attacking load but Holbrook was confident that would not be the case in 2026.
With Brown landing at the Newcastle club on a $13 million contract, and the likes of Sharpe and Smith also in key positions, Holbrook was hopeful of lessening the pressure on Ponga.
“I feel like we need to set our team up that we weren’t relying on him, and as I said it didn’t matter if it was Sharpe or Smith there,”
“With Dylan, we had enough threats everywhere that we weren’t relying on KP (Ponga) and I thought, it’s only game one, and obviously every side is going to get better.
“But in particular, us. I feel like we’ve got the nucleus of some new players in there and not having KP train a lot, and (Gagai) hadn’t trained a lot and Dom (Young) hadn’t trained a lot.
“So we had a number of plays no training much leading into round one, so the fact we were good enough to put it all together and get a win is really pleasing.”
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