Huddersfield and former St George Illawarra mentor Nathan Brown agreed on Tuesday to take over as head coach from next season at St Helens in the Super League.
The 38-year-old Brown, who is in his fourth season in Super League, will succeed fellow Australian Royce Simmons after he completes his commitments with the Giants in October.
Caretaker coaches Mike Rush and Keiron Cunningham, who have enjoyed outstanding victories over Leeds and Warrington since taking over from Simmons, are expected to stay in charge until the end of the season when Brown will take up a three-year contract.
St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus said: “We are extremely pleased that Nathan will be joining us next season.
“I believe he is ideally suited for the Saints both with regard to the way we want to play and as to what we aim to achieve in terms of success.”
Brown was forced to retire as a player in 2001 when he suffered a neck injury with St George Illawarra in a trial game.
Two years later, he took over as head coach of the Dragons, becoming the youngest non-playing coach in NRL history at the age of 29.