On Saturday, the 44-year-old from Mount Isa will oversee his first game as a head NRL coach, when he replaces the departed Nathan Brown at Newcastle's helm for their clash with Gold Coast at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Woolf will become the 11^th man to coach to Knights in first grade, and in all likelihood his tenure will be the briefest.

Newcastle have only two regular-season games remaining, and while they remain a mathematical chance to make the finals, that would require multiple miracles unfolding.

Woolf's caretaker stint is expected to end after their last-round showdown with Penrith, at which point he is set to take charge of Super League club St Helens.

A former schoolteacher and first-grade player with Souths Magpies in the Queensland Cup competition, Woolf's coaching career kicked off almost two decades ago when he steered Townsville's Ignatius Park College to victory in the state championships.

In 2005, he accepted the role of junior-development manager with North Queensland Cowboys, and four years later he took charge of their under-20s team.

With young talent including Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan, Felise Kaufusi and Kyle Feldt in his team, Woolf piloted the Cowboys into the 2011 National Youth Competition grand final, which they lost in golden point to the Warriors.

He then had a stint as Anthony Griffin's assistant at the Broncos, before returning to assume the reins of the Cowboys' feeder team, the Townsville Blackhawks.

Since 2014, he has been an international coach after being appointed by Tonga, leading them to a famous win against New Zealand and a semi-final berth at the 2017 World Cup.

Signed by the Knights at the end of last season, Woolf was entrusted with the role of defensive coach, and while Newcastle have leaked points recently, their season tally of 464 points (at 21 per game) is an improvement on last year (607 points at 25).

Senior players Aidan Guerra and Jamie Buhrer agreed that Woolf would do a good job, in tough circumstances.

"Woolfy was a big part of the coaching staff when Browny was head coach," Buhrer said.

"He'll just assume a larger role ... I'm sure he'll do a good job. He's a great operator. He's got respect."

Guerra added that "you can't learn new things in three or four days", saying Woolf's main challenge would be "get everyone's head right."

"Woolfy, he's been around football a long time," Guerra said. "He's very knowledgeable about the game. He's been with this group of players for 10 months now, so he knows what buttons he's got to press for certain players and certain individuals.

"At the end of the day, we've just got to front up."