John Kear makes sensational coaching return after agreeing Championship move
John Kear is back in club coaching!
John Kear has made a sensational return to club coaching after agreeing to re-join former club Batley Bulldogs for the rest of the season.
The 70-year-old enjoyed a stellar spell in charge of the Bulldogs, taking them to the Qualifiers during the Super 8s period and frequently setting up ties for Batley against major Super League clubs.
He coached the club between 2011 and 2016 and was later in charge at Bradford Bulls and Widnes Vikings.
Kear has not held a coaching role for two years but the Wales boss will now head back to Batley and take over for the rest of this year, before the club make a long-term appointment for 2026.
The news was heralded by Batley owner Kevin Nicholas, who said: “We’ve decided we needed to basically get some experienced coach to take us to the end of the year as a temporary thing and assess everything then get a new coach next season, basically.
“We’ve just finished and agreeing terms with John Kear. In my view, it’s a great achievement getting him back to the club.
“He will come to training tomorrow, won’t really be fully involved until next week, but he will be partly involved with the Sheffield game.
“But he’s going to take us to the end of the year and hopefully improve things best he can. He’ll clearly be a new voice and that is the announcement. John Kear is our new coach until the end of the season.”
Batley have won just twice in 2025 in the league and face a huge clash with Sheffield this Sunday, the side who sit just two points above them in the table.
With six points to their name, Batley are six shy of 9th-placed Widnes Vikings. The bottom four teams will enter a returning Super 8s system later this year with the leading League 1 sides to determine who makes up the final places in the Championship in 2026.
And Batley have turned to an old head to try and save them.
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