From Brian McDermott to Danny McGuire, there has been a vast amount of coaches to take charge of a Super League club in the summer era.
With three coaches all having new teams heading into the new season, and one enters his thirteenth campaign, an achievement very few bosses, on either side of the world, can say they have had the privilege to do, we have opted to rank each coach by the time they have spent at their current club.
Bosses are ranked by how many matches they have overseen, with a number of coaches being announced way before they actually started the role. For example, Hull FC’s John Cartwright was announced in May 2024, but didn’t take his first game until February 2025. All stats are taken from Rugby League Project
Ranking the longest-serving Super League head coaches
=14. Bradford Bulls – Kurt Haggerty – 0 matches
Announced in September, Salford Red Devils’ financial issues, and subsequent liquidation, forced Haggerty to move elsewhere, and he landed himself the Bradford job upon their return to Super League.
Though he has never been a permanent head coach in his career, he is well-established in the game, and has plenty of experience as both a player and an assistant boss.
=14.Castleford Tigers – Ryan Carr – 0 matches
Returning to the UK for the first time since 2019, where he coached Featherstone Rovers, Carr has penned a three-year deal to join Castleford and hopefully be the man to get them out of the finals drought the club are currently in. With no play-offs since 2019, Carr looks to be the man that can turn the club’s fortunes around, and with the signings they have made, there is certainly scope for optimism.
=14. St Helens – Paul Rowley – 0 matches
Another man forced to change his 2026 plans, Rowley replaces Paul Wellens as St Helens boss, and will be targeting success and silverware from the off. With no appearances in a major final for just short of three years, Rowley and his attacking style of play will hope to change that feat over the next three seasons at least.
11. Catalans Dragons – Joel Tomkins – 16 matches
Appointed on an interim basis, Tomkins was promoted to head coach once Steve McNamara had left his role in May. Despite winning one out of eight games in the interim period, he was given the reigns on a permanent basis, and will lead the Perpignan outfit for the next two seasons.
10. Hull FC – John Cartwright – 30 matches
Joining the club ahead of 2025, Cartwright was a successful player in his own right, and after being head coach of Gold Coast Titans from 2007-2014, he joined North Queensland, Manly and Brisbane as assistant boss.
He returned to the head coach role with FC, and has significantly improved the club in a relatively short space of time. Missing out on the finals by just one competition point, another pre-season followed by their continued rise makes them firmly in contention for a top six spot this year.
9. Leeds Rhinos – Brad Arthur – 40 matches
Arthur joined Leeds on a 10-game contract to end 2024, before making a decision as to whether he would stay or leave. He continued on for another year, and in August confirmed he would be sticking around for 2026, in what was a huge boost for Leeds and the club.
Whilst the club didn’t achieve the finishes they would have liked in both league and cup, it is safe to say that Arthur, like Cartwright, has transformed his side into one that can consistently compete at the top of the table.
8. Huddersfield Giants – Luke Robinson – 40 matches
Taking charge of his first game one week before Arthur did, Robins0n was made Giants assistant for the second time in his career in July 2024, after doing the role previously in 2020. He replaced the now-Hull KR assistant Ian Watson, and was made permanent boss of the club in September, penning a three-year deal.
7. York Knights – Mark Applegarth – June 2024 – 50 matches
Former Wakefield boss Applegarth replaced Andrew Henderson as head coach in June 2024, with the latter moving up to the role of Director of Rugby. He guided York to a Championship League Leaders Shield in 2025 which included a winning run of 20 matches. They lost out in the Grand Final to Toulouse, but did more than enough to earn their place in Super League this year.
6. Warrington Wolves – Sam Burgess – August 2023 – 65 matches
As he enters the third and final year of his contract, Burgess was appointed Warrington boss ahead of 2024, and his first season was relatively successful. The club finished third, got to Wembley, had the best defence in the league, and only missed out on the Grand Final by two points.
The 2025 season proved to be much more challenging, and despite reaching Wembley once again, failed to live up to expectations and finished outside the play-offs. If Burgess wants to extend his stay at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, many changes need to be made, and improvements on the field is a must.
5. Wakefield Trinity – Daryl Powell – October 2023 – 66 matches
Taking charge ahead of their season in the Championship in 2024, Powell is one of many key people to have turned the Trinity club around, both on and off the field. Helped by owner Matt Ellis, he guided his side to a Championship title, before backing it up with a place in the play-offs in the season just gone.
Powell is currently the fifth longest-serving boss in Super League, and with a contract that runs until the end of 2029, he is more than likely going to increase that number in the future.
4. Hull KR – Willie Peters – 99 matches
Announced in May 2022 that he would join the club for the 2023 season, Peters is just one game away from a century in charge of Hull KR, and it’s fair to say his time at the helm has been nothing but successful.
With a Grand Final appearance in 2024 backed up by a treble-winning year in 2025, it’s hard to against the Robins whilst Peters is still in charge. He attracted interest from the NRL across the year, but with a contract that runs until the end of 2028, Rovers fans can expect a few more joyous years of Peters at Craven Park.
3. Wigan Warriors – Matt Peet – 129 matches
Joining ahead of 2022, the most recent campaign is the first year that Peet failed to deliver a trophy, after winning the Challenge Cup in 2022, the Grand Final in 2023 and the quadruple in 2024.
Whilst it will be a year of playing the hunter rather than the hunted, Wigan will no doubt be at the top of the ladder once again, and with KR’s tricky start to the year, will want to be perfect in the opening few rounds to put as much pressure on the Champions as possible.
2. Leigh Leopards – Adrian Lam – 130 matches
Lam departed Wigan in 2021, and joined Leigh ahead of their Championship campaign in 2022. In what was perhaps the most dominant second tier campaign ever, the club have gone from strength to strength since then, and have improved their league position year-on-year.
Finishing third in 2025, it will be a challenging task for them to increase their place in the standings for fifth consecutive year, however Lam’s side have shown they are more than capable of battling with the league’s best.1.
1. Toulouse Olympique – Sylvain Houles – 292 matches
Joining the club all the way back in 2013, Houles joined Toulouse as an assistant boss in mid-season, before being appointed head coach in the December. Since then, he has led the French side to many major milestones including the French Championship, League One, Betfred Championship and will soon be a Super League head coach for the second time.
He is fast approaching 300 matches in charge of the club, a feat not many bosses get to achieve, especially in the modern era.
