{"id":378333,"date":"2025-12-29T14:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378333\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:27:08","slug":"how-ian-watsons-head-coach-experience-is-helping-hull-kr-ahead-of-giant-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378333\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ian Watson\u2019s head coach experience is helping Hull KR ahead of giant season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ian Watson opens up on his time so far as assistant coach to Willie Peters at Hull KR.\"FormerFormer Huddersfield and Salford boss Ian Watson has joined Hull KR as an assistant coach ahead of 2026.<\/p>\n

Ian Watson has been relishing his new role as assistant coach at Hull KR following a spell in rugby union, admitting his previous experience as a head coach allows him to support in key areas.<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old, who previously led both Salford Red Devils and Huddersfield Giants, says he has always been hands-on by nature, enjoying involvement across all aspects of preparation and performance. That approach has helped ensure a smooth transition back into an assistant role in Super League.<\/p>\n

After departing Huddersfield Giants in 2024, Watson spent time in the United States as an assistant coach with Major League Rugby outfit Seattle Seawolves<\/a>. He later returned to England and rugby league, joining Hull KR on a two-year deal ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved it,\u201d Watson said, reflecting on his time working under head coach Willie Peters so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a head coach, I was always more of a hands-on coach. I like to do a lot of things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved the assistant role in terms of supporting a head coach – the fact I\u2019ve been a head coach, I can see certain things and areas where you can take a little bit of pressure off in those environments, or share a bit of the workload.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said I love being involved in rugby, I love coaching, and I\u2019m not too fussy about being a head coach, or being an assistant coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the day-to-day – the involvement with players and other coaches, working together as part of a team and enjoying those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watson joins former England international and 2017 Man of Steel winner Luke Gale<\/a> in a refreshed coaching set-up at Sewell Group Craven Park, as the Robins prepare to defend their titles in 2026. Hull KR will also bid for World Club Challenge glory when they face Brisbane Broncos on February 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaches are all very involved, get asked their opinions and you can bounce opinions off each other,\u201d Watson continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an assistant to a head coach for me isn\u2019t anything different, it\u2019s being a part of a sport I enjoy and a job I love to do. I\u2019ve enjoyed being an assistant – in Seattle it was amazing and I\u2019m finding it the same at Hull KR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is working with like-minded people who want to achieve things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ian Watson opens up on his time so far as assistant coach to Willie Peters at Hull KR.Former…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-378333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}