Bookmakers have suspended the betting on next St Helens coach after a flurry of bets were taken for Justin Holbrook.

Holbrook, the current Sydney Roosters assistant, has seen his odds coming in over recent days and was rated second favourite to Jason Demetriou.

However, Betfred have now suspended the market after taking a major amount of money on him and cutting his odds from 8/1 to Evens in a short space of time.

A Betfred spokesman said: “There were around 20 significant bets all on Holbrook at our shops in St Helens, Wigan and Leigh.

“The biggest was a £100 at 8/1 placed in Hindley. That made us take notice.

“He was quickly established as favourite and we have decided to suspend all bets on this market as an announcement is expected from the Saints sooner rather than later.”

Reports now suggest that Holbrook will be confirmed as coach before the end of the week.