Justin Holbrook

Holbrook said Olam is nursing an injury and is likely to sit out the remainder of the Pacific championship campaign. However, the boys from England are expected to be available for the match against Fiji Bati on October 29.

Holbrook said, “I’d love Justin to be playing as he wants to play but at the moment he's doing his rehab down in Melbourne when he picked up the injury in his last game.”

Holbrook blooded six Test debutants in his first match as Kumuls coach and they all impressed as the new look PNG team romped to a 46-10 defeat of Cook Islands at Santos National Football Stadium on Sunday.

The Kumuls will be bolstered by the return of England-based stars Edwin Ipape, Rhyse Martin and Wellington Albert, while injured Storm centre Justin Olam may also be available for the October 29 clash with the Bati in Port Moresby.

Holbrook coached de Belin at St George Illawarra when the former St Helens and Gold Coast Titans mentor was starting his coaching career with the Dragons NYC under 20s team in 2012.

De Belin, whose grandmother Aileen Leary was born in PNG while her parents were serving as missionaries, has been considering declaring his eligibility for the Kumuls since the 2013 World Cup, when Adrian Lam was in charge of the team.

Only two months into his tenure as the Kumuls head coach, Holbrook was given a 20-men squad to work with. While majority of the group had little or non-capped players, playing at the PM’s 13 level was an unreal experience.

It was a whole new experience for coach Justin Holbrook who appeared over the moon after Saturday’s impressive performance by PNG against the big NRL stars, two of whom he mentored at the Titans in the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui,and Alofiana Khan-Pereira.

Another building block in the development of rugby league in PNG has been achieved with the appointment of Justin Holbrook as the head coach of the PNG Kumuls.

The news comes at an important time as PNG continues its strategic approach to creating an internal pathways system as part of its bid to join the NRL.

Holbrook, who has recently been appointed as Roosters assistant coach working with Trent Robinson, will take up his new role this month.

Holbrook has recommitted to the club until the end of 2024 to ensure he is not caught up in the code's annual coaching merry-go-round.

The rookie mentor was already signed for another 12 months on his original Titans contract but as revealed by NRL.com earlier this month, the club was proactive in starting negotiations early with their coach.

His new three-year deal binds the club and coach together longer than any of his contemporaries in the most cut-throat of businesses.