The Newcastle Knights hit the bottom again in 2026, and Adam O'Brien paid for it with his job.
That means the club is under new management with Justin Holbrook taking over the reins.
The Knights aren't expected to be an overnight success, but the arrival of Dylan Brown, who becomes the highest-paid player in the game, as well as others led by Trey Mooney and Sandon Smith, have some positive thoughts emanating out of the Hunter.
Whether they materialise though remains to be seen and could well be dictated in a way by how Holbrook picks his team.
Brown's position is still unclear, there are potentially too many cooks in the kitchen for the spine, and the forward pack is a little up in the air following the departure of Leo Thompson.
One of the NRL's more unstable teams, there is plenty to ponder in the Hunter ahead of kick-off in 2026, and the pre-season challenge could well give plenty of hints about the way they will ultimately take to the field.
Here are the key selection questions for the Knights in 2026.
Six or seven for Dylan Brown?
The big-money move for Dylan Brown will be one of the key storylines to watch throughout the course of the 2026 campaign.
He needs to find a way to bring his absolute best to the Knights if the Hunter-based club are going to be any chance of climbing their way off the bottom of the ladder.
Brown has played five-eighth for the entirety of his career to date, but there has been a push to suggest he could be the Knights' halfback.
The most recent comments suggest he is going to play five-eighth, but the fact remains Newcastle don't have a walk-up halfback option this year.
Phoenix Crossland may be the closest, but should be required in the forwards, while Sandon Smith and Fletcher Sharpe could pose as number sevens, but neither are.
