Hull KR rocked by fresh departure of key member of backroom staff

Hull KR’s academy head coach Jason Netherton has revealed that he has left the Super League champions with immediate effect after over 20 years at the club.

Netherton, a native of Hull, joined the Robins in 2004 as a player after initially beginning his playing career with Leeds Rhinos from 2001 to 2003.

He would go on to make almost 200 appearances for the club in all competitions, solidifying himself as one of their finest servants in the modern era. That included playing a pivotal role in their promotion-winning season back to Super League in 2006.

Netherton remained a player at Rovers until the 2014 season, after which time he immediately moved into the club’s backroom staff after announcing his retirement as a player.

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Netherton headed up the City of Hull Academy before moving solely onto developing Hull KR’s young stars when that system was abandoned. But now, he is on the hunt for a fresh opportunity after confirming on social media that he would be leaving the Super League champions.

Netherton wrote: “After over 20 years at Hull KR, my time at the club has come to a conclusion.

“It has been one of my life’s pleasures to be involved with such a fantastic club, both as a player for 10 years and then transitioning into coaching and finally as management.

“I am extremely proud of the work that we have managed to do with rebuilding the academy over the last four years post-Covid and would like to thank everyone that I have had the pleasure to work with, both players, staff and wider stakeholders along this wonderful journey.”

Netherton did not confirm whether or not he had secured a new opportunity elsewhere, only saying: “I am excited to see what comes next”.

There has been a major overhaul in Rovers’ backroom staff since they clinched an historic treble, with Netherton the latest to move on. Assistant coach Danny Ward has returned to London Broncos after their transition back to a full-time operation, while Shaun Kenny-Dowall has headed back to Australia.

In their place, Wakefield’s Luke Gale and former Huddersfield coach Ian Watson have joined Willie Peters’ first-team staff – but they are now on the hunt for a new figure to head up their academy setup.