Who will partner a now visa-approved Dylan Brown in the halves and what time will the Newcastle Knights kick-off in Las Vegas?
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One of these questions has now been answered definitively while the other remains up in the air, with a premiership-winning playmaker weighing in.
Luke Keary, now an assistant coach at his former NRL club the Sydney Roosters, believes Knights recruit Sandon Smith should be alongside Brown for the Nevada-based season opener and throughout 2026.
It comes as confirmation around next month's March 1 triple header emerged on Sunday, with Newcastle and North Queensland landing the middle timeslot at Allegiant Stadium which kicks off back in Australia at 1:15pm (AEDT).
Bulldogs v Dragons follow at 3:30pm (AEDT) while an English Super League clash between Hull KR and Leeds opens proceedings at 11am (AEDT).
Holbrook also unveiled that "Sandon Smith and Fletcher Sharpe will start in the halves," turning into a virtual shootout for round one.
The Knights have a second trial against the Bulldogs at McDonald Jones Stadium on February 14, but with many of their frontliners expected to slot in before departing for Las Vegas that next week.
Keary, appearing on a recent NRL podcast for Fox League, backed former Roosters teammate Smith to be Newcastle's halfback, partnering Brown at five-eighth but still finding room somewhere in the game-day squad for talented local Sharpe.
"He [Smith] will be their seven," Keary said.
"You look through the roster, he's the only option. In my eyes, he's the only option.
"We saw Dylan Brown with Kieran [Foran] in the Pacific Champs [for New Zealand at end of 2025].
"He [Brown] is one of the best sixes in the comp [NRL]. When Mitch [Moses at Parramatta] had him and when Kieran had him [Kiwis].
"He probably should have won the Golden Boot at the end of the year and Sandon is an out-and-out seven. I think it's just perfect for both of them.
"Sandon comes after a bit of a tough year, but I thought he showed some really good signs. He gets to play beside a guy on $10million who everyone's going to be talking about. He can just go and do his job. He'll get the team around, he likes to play up in front of shape, he'll have his hands on the ball, he'll kick them into good spots.
"And on the other side Dylan doesn't have the weight of the seven, he doesn't have Andrew Johns' jersey. He's still got the price tag but he's going to be able to play. He loves playing left-hand short sides, he loves playing out the back of shape. He's going to be able to play exactly the way he played at Parramatta when he was in form.
"I think it works perfect for both of them and takes the pressure off them.
"The only question mark is the Fletcher Sharpe situation and how, where ... because he has to play. The talent is there, he has to play and it's just where Justin fits him into that whole puzzle."
Holbrook, before being appointed head coach of the Knights towards the end of last season, was one of Trent Robinson's assistants at the Roosters where he worked with both Keary and Smith in 2024.
Keary wrapped up his professional playing career after a stint with Catalans in 2025, having claimed NRL premierships at both the South Sydney Rabbitohs (2014) and the Roosters (2018, 2019) while also representing NSW, Australia and Ireland.
