Nathan Cayless has left his coaching role with the New Zealand national team in order to secure an earlier start date with Hull KR.
That news was confirmed by Rovers’ CEO Paul Lakin when speaking on the Hull KR YouTube channel, with an approximate date now offered for when Cayless will start work at Craven Park.
Lakin was offering an update on all things at the club, including why Nathan Cayless was hired as the man to replace Willie Peters, and what the plan will be during his tenure.
On his start date, Lakin confirmed: “He’s withdrawn from the New Zealand coaching role. We haven’t said that publicly because it’s more for Nathan to say but he’s withdrawn from the World Cup because he wants to come over early and get settled in and embedded as soon as possible.”
“He’ll actually be over in England in the first couple of days in November.”
Had Cayless remained in his role at New Zealand, he likely would not have arrived in England until mid to late November given that the Kiwis will be among the favourites to make the World Cup Final on November 15th.
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Hull KR CEO confirms ‘phase two’ plan under Nathan Cayless
Lakin also explained exactly why Cayless was the man selected to take charge after the success of Willie Peters, with leadership identified as the key trait that the 48-year-old displays.
“There were some common denominators that I wanted to see in the next coach that I saw in Willie and I didn’t want us to lose so work ethic and detail. Nathan is definitely as detailed as Willie,” Lakin explained.
“He’s a real experienced leader, the youngest captain in the NRL at 21 and he’s a born leader who has a presence about him… I think where he is as a head coach in New South Wales Cup at the moment is that he embraces the youth, so he certainly fits phase two which is retaining our Championship-winning mentality and experienced players but to build around it.”
Cayless has been appointed to a three-year deal at Hull KR and he will oversee what Lakin has described as ‘phase two’ of the club’s plan, something that will focus on promoting more youth.
“Phase one was to really finance the first team and challenge,” he said.
“Our strategy was very much that you deliver on the pitch, win trophies and build from there, so we will still absolutely invest everything into the first team.
“But in phase two, which comes into Nathan [Cayless], the wider element of player development from pathways. We do need to see some of our younger players coming through now. Without any doubt, Nathan has a stronger set of young players than perhaps Willie had.
“We need to bring some younger players into the squad and that was the thinking, we needed someone who believed in the youth, as that fit the next part of our strategy.”
As the coach Parramatta Eels’ New South Wales Cup side, Cayless is well-versed in developing and working with young players, something that Hull KR will hope to do in the coming years.
