Former Castleford favourite joins South Sydney Rabbitohs coaching staff

Ex-Castleford star Dean Widders has been appointed as head coach of South Sydney Rabbitohs women.

The 39-year-old scored 23 tries in 60 games in three seasons at the Tigers between 2009-11.

Widders – who made 159 NRL appearances for Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels and the Rabbitohs – has penned a two-year deal to take over as South Sydney women’s coach.

He said: “The main reason why I wanted to come back to the Rabbitohs was to instil a belief in the players around the famous Rabbitohs jersey and give them an understanding of how prestigious it is to represent South Sydney.

“The girls need to earn the right to wear the Rabbitohs jersey. It’s held in such high esteem and so many people have put in so much work for it for over 110 years.

“I want to ensure we play and train with the highest of standards, and represent the club in the best way possible at all times. I want to promote leadership in the women’s game and there is no better vehicle to do that than with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

“We have a lot of young girls coming through the ranks now. Souths Juniors have done a fantastic job in providing opportunities for girls to play rugby league and we need to set things up so those girls who dream of playing for South Sydney have the best opportunities to do just that.”

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