Castleford Tigers have appointed Ryan Carr as their new head coach to take them into the 2026 Super League season and beyond.
Carr will arrive at the club ahead of next season after finishing the campaign with St George Illawarra Dragons, where he serves as an assistant coach, and the Tigers have big expectations moving into the new year and beyond.
Ahead of this weekend’s Super League clash with Catalans Dragons, director of rugby Chris Chester spoke to the press and he was understandably delighted to finally have his new man in place.
Here’s everything he had to say on his new head coach, the process of appointing him, recruitment and targets going into next season.
How does it feel to finally have your man?
It’s a huge relief. I’m absolutely over the moon that we’ve been able to get somebody of the calibre of Ryan Carr through the door here. I’ve known Ryan for a long time and kept in contact with him. I had a look at Ryan when I initially went to Leigh and kind of just followed his journey. Everybody that I’ve spoken to within the NRL have done nothing but spoke very highly of Ryan. I think it was important that we took the time that we did to make sure that we got the right guy for this club to take us forward. The board were very very impressed with what he had to say in the presentation and how he connects with the playing group and the town. I’m relieved we’ve managed to get him over the line.
It has taken slightly longer than expected, were there times over the last few weeks where it looked like you weren’t going to get your preferred candidate?
No I don’t think so. The difficulty, certainly in the last week, has been dealing with the coaches that are in Australia and then dealing with an agent in Thailand and the time differences are a little bit all over the place. We were always confident that we’d get our preferred candidate and after the presentation to the board, he blew everybody’s mind about what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it. I’m just looking forward to being on that journey with him.
What makes him the perfect fit?
I think just the way he sees the game and his vision and how he wants his team to look. Every day he wants these to come in and be competitive and every day he comes into work he’s going to compete. He just spoke really well on his vision for the club. They all did to be honest. This is why we probably took our time because there wasn’t a great deal between the two candidates but Ryan stood out with how he saw the game and how he can improve this team. We share very similar philosophies on how the game should be played. I think the fans will be delighted.
they’ll be delighted first and foremost because I’m not going to be the coach but I’ve been really impressed with the way Ryan has come across in interviews and press. He took St George for 13 or 14 games as a head coach when Anthony Griffin got sacked. I had a real good conversation with Brad Arthur as well. Brad worked with Ryan at Parramatta, I think it was the year they got to the Grand Final and he spoke very highly of Ryan. I’m just really pleased that we’ve been able to get that kind of calibre through the door and I’m looking forward to working with him.
When will he arrive?
He’s got some commitments there at St George until the end of the season but I’ll pick up the phone with him, I had a good conversation with him last night, just around the salary cap and squad and players that we’ve brought in and are looking at and I’ll have another conversation with him over the next couple of days. He spent some time going round telling his family and he spoke with the Dragons chairman and the board. They’re delighted for him. They didn’t want him to leave but they see it as a fantastic opportunity for him and it’s a great opportunity for the club and the town to get this club where it needs to get to.
What swung it in that meeting?
He wants the players to be the best version of themselves every single day, not just on a weekend. Mainly just the way he wants to play and how he sees the game over here and the improvements he feels he can make moving forward.
Will he have any say or input into what the team looks like in these last five games?
I’d be silly not to chat to him and I’ll have a conversation with him tonight, they have a game today which might have just finished. I’ll keep in constant dialogue with him and see what he thinks. We had a chat after the weekend and his thoughts on it and some good chats about what he wants the squad to look like and what a Castleford player should look like and just look at the whole performance and ways we can be better. He’s obviously got commitments with St George but I’m just really delighted that we’ve managed to get somebody of the calibre of Ryan.
It’s a three-year deal, given the coaching turnover you’ve had lately, this one has to be a long-term appointment doesn’t it?
Yeah it does and it’s up to me to provide Ryan with the calibre of player that we need to move up in and around that top six. We’ve made some significant signings over the last two months. We’ve still got significant cap space to play with and I’m excited with the squad that we’ve got. He’s come up with ideas around personnel and he’s tipped me off on a couple of players over there as well. Whether we use the full 10 of the quota I’m not so sure but we’ll be there or there abouts and it’s important that we get the young kids coming through the system. I’m looking forward to the way he’s going to work with those guys at the younger end.
You’ve almost been recruiting blind in terms of the head coach, is he happy with the recruits that you have made?
We’ve got similar ideas of what a rugby league player should look like. It’s not so much the big boppers, it’s more around blokes that can move well, leg speed and athletes. We’ve signed some real good athletes and guys in the middle third of the field that move well and have some speed. I’m already looking at 2027 and what kind of squad that looks like.
Ryan is excited about the players that he’s got to work with and there’ll be some announcements, I think it was important that we announced the head coach first and off the back of that, there’ll be some announcements on the signings for 2026. There’s some names in there that I’m pretty sure everyone will be excited about coming to watch at the OneBore Stadium.
How much does he know about the current squad and does he already have a fair idea of who he would like to keep?
I’ve sent him salary cap stuff and we’ve discussed the roster for 26 and what changes he’d like to make and it’s up to me to make sure I give him the best possible squad for 26 for him to be challenging for the top six. That’s a minimum target for us as a club next year. I’m more than happy with the squad we’ve put together.
Will you be sticking with the same backroom team or will he be able to bring in one or two of his own men?
Everything is under review. We have some real good experienced coaches, we have backroom, performance, medical and that review process is still ongoing. Because of the extra role I’m doing at the minute I’ve put that to one side at the minute but myself and Ryan have already had discussions on the staff and what he would want that to look like next year. We’ll have a real good look once everything has calmed down about what that looks like in the next couple of weeks.
It sounds like you’ve signed some NRL regulars for next year, is that a fair comment?
Yeah, we’ve got some experienced NRL players and we’ve already announced Brock Greacan. He’s playing NSW Cup there, but we’ll have a mixture of experience and some good younger end talent from the cup. Everybody has probably heard of the names which helps. I just think we’ve got a real good blend of speed, we’ve identified our back five isn’t getting far enough up the field so we’ve got some big bodies there. We need to have a look at the spine for next year but I’m excited about the players and not just the NRL ones, the UK ones as well. We’ve signed some good UK based talent and experience as well.
Have you spoken to him about league positions and what’s achievable?
Only briefly but we’re going to be spending the full salary cap next year and by doing that you give yourself a hell of a chance of competing and competing in those big games at the end of the year. Knowing Ryan, he trains to win and I’m confident that he’ll get the best out of this squad next year and top six is achievable. You need a bit of luck along the way with injuries and I don’t think our spine has played two weeks on the bounce this year, so it’s important for us to get that spine and get them playing week in, week out.
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