AFTER four seasons of decline on the field and turmoil off it, a relatively unknown, but highly-regarded, Australian has been charged with restoring Castleford Tigers to former glories.
Other than a Wembley appearance in 2021, the West Yorkshire outfit have had little to celebrate since finishing 10 points clear at the top of Super League eight years ago.
Tigers last graced the play-offs in 2019 and have finished second from bottom twice and a single place better off once in the past three seasons.
Tellingly, new boss Ryan Carr is the sixth man to occupy the coaching hot seat in the quartet of campaigns following long-serving Daryl Powell’s departure at the end of 2021.
One of those was the club’s director of rugby Chris Chester who took over on an interim basis after Danny McGuire was dismissed in July, having been in charge for only 17 games.
As well as seeing Tigers through to the end of the 2025 season, Chester led the hunt for McGuire’s long-term successor and believes he has struck gold in the shape of 37-year-old Carr.
This is Carr’s second spell in England. In 2019 he was both head-coach of Championship side Featherstone Rovers and assistant to Richard Agar at Leeds Rhinos.
Having returned to Australia, he served on the backroom staff at NRL clubs Parramatta Eels and then St George-Illawarra Dragons before being confirmed as Tigers’ new boss in August.
Based on their recent fortunes, Tigers possibly weren’t the most attractive proposition, but, being no stranger to the area, Carr knows a sleeping giant when he sees one.
Speaking at his first media briefing in the role, he said: “I’ve always had ambitions to be a head-coach. I’ve been an assistant in Australia for the past six years, but I love having my own team.
“I have a good relationship with Chezzy [Chester], who I’ve known since I was last over here. We share a lot of beliefs on and off the field and I think that’s important.
“I was confident in where I was coming into and where the club’s heading and the room for growth, which is really exciting.
“There’s a lot to work with here; I love a challenge and we’ve got a challenge here. We’re going to grab it with both hands and go forward.”
For his part, Chester insisted: “I know we’ve got the right man at the helm. It’s my job to provide him with the personnel to achieve our goals.”
That part of the deal has, it seems, been fulfilled and Tigers will field a new-look squad in 2026, including a nap hand of recruits fresh out of NRL clubs: Brock Greacen (from Newcastle Knights), Blake Taaffe (Canterbury Bulldogs), Mikaele Rivalawa (St George-Illawarra Dragons), Semi Valemei (North Queensland Cowboys) and Tom Weaver (Gold Coast Titans).
Of what he expects from them and the rest of the squad, Carr stressed: “There’s a few non-negotiables we’ll operate with; the level we compete at and how hard our effort is every game is something we’re going to value very highly.
“We’re going to compete really hard, our effort levels will be extremely high and we’re going to do that consistently and we’re going to demand that of ourselves. We’re going to make sure we focus on building something special here at this club.
“We want everyone involved to be excited and to go on a journey we get some really good memories out of. Everyone is paid to do a job here so we are going to make sure everyone does their job to the best of their ability from day one.”
Reconnecting team and town is a priority for the new coach. “A huge advantage of the club is the community we are in,” Carr added.
“We are a rugby league community; passionate fans who care about the club deeply. We want to create that hostile environment for teams who come here, because that’s what home grounds are for.
“Everyone values their home ground like that, but – I know from first-hand experience – on its day this rivals any team in the competition for a home ground.
“It’s our job to make the community feel excited about us and to give them the belief they can come and support us.
“We rely so heavily on the community and it’s our job to repay their faith and support with good performances and turn it into a huge advantage.”
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