The Australian Kangaroos could have a new-look coaching staff for their next match after losing the 2023 Pacific Championships to the New Zealand Kiwis.
Mal Meninga will remain as the head coach of the Kangaroos but is set to appoint new assistant coaches to work alongside him at the 2024 Pacific Championships later this year against New Zealand and Tonga.
According to News Corp, long-time Kangaroos assistant coaches Adrian Lam and Michael Hagan have stood down from their respective roles as part of Australia's coaching staff.
In their place, they are set to be replaced by former Gold Coast Titans coach and current Sydney Roosters assistant Justin Holbrook, while Brett White, an assistant at the Titans and NSW Blues, will remain in the coaching staff.
The surprising report means Holbrook would have to relinquish his role as the head coach of the Papua New Guinea Kumuls after leading them to success at last year's Pacific Bowl against the Cook Islands and Fiji.
It also comes after Adrian Lam hoped to continue working on the international scene with the Kangaroos, despite inking a long-term contract as head coach of the Leigh Leopards.
โFunnily enough I had a conversation with Mal last week about it, I think he's been extended by another three years which takes him to the next World Cup and no Australian coach has ever won three World Cups in a row," he said in May.
"I'm going to be a part of that and he wants me to be a part of that.
โThat excites me and I want to be a part of that, I've talked to the club about that, I think it's really important for us, it gives us a presence internationally as well and it also keeps one foot in the door with the players that are in the NRL.
โThat's a real honour for me to do that, Mal's a mentor of mine and a lot of my coaching philosophies are based on what he does and he's an inspiration to me, so I'm pretty excited about that.โ
