Former Hull KR fan favourite takes up player-coach role Down Under after Craven Park departure
Kane Linnett celebrates a try for Hull KR in 2023 with team-mates Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Ryan Hall - Alamy
Ex-Hull KR ace Kane Linnett has found a new club following his return Down Under, taking up a player-coach role with country rugby league outfit Sarina Crocodiles.
New South Wales-born forward Linnett announced his decision to hang up his boots where the professional game is concerned at the beginning of this month, bringing an end to a five-season stay with the Robins.
The veteran will turn 35 in January, and his departure from Craven Park freed up a quota spot, allowing KR to bring in Kelepi Tanginoa from relegated Wakefield Trinity.
With his professional days now behind him, Linnett links up with the Queensland-based Crocodiles’ ‘A-Grade’ team for 2024 in a player-coach capacity.
Former Hull KR fan favourite Kane Linnett takes up player-coach role Down Under after Craven Park departure
Natives to the Mackay region, Linnett’s new club hail from a town in Sarina with a population – according to the 2021 census – of just over 5,600.
To put that into perspective, the city of Hull had circa 267,000 in a census carried out in the same year, more than 47 times more.
In the 34-year-old, the Australian outfit get a man with nine caps for Scotland, earned through his heritage. Scoring two tries donning the Saltire, Linnett appeared at two World Cups, including last year’s delayed edition on these shores.
As well as his 110 appearances for KR, Linnett also has close to 200 NRL appearances to his name, made between the Sydney Roosters and North Queensland Cowboys.
That includes a Grand Final win Down Under with the Cowboys in 2015, and subsequently a triumph in the World Club Series against then-reigning Super League champions Leeds Rhinos the following year.
Sarina Crocodiles announce veteran forward’s signature ahead of 2024
The Crocodiles confirmed the 34-year-old’s arrival via their Facebook page earlier today, writing: “Sarina RLFC would like to welcome Kane Linnett to the Croc family as he joins us for the 2024 Season and beyond, fulfilling the role of Captain/Coach!