{"id":809722,"date":"2026-10-21T23:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T23:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/809722\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T23:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T23:02:15","slug":"castleford-tigers-icon-lands-maiden-head-coach-gig-as-championship-club-confirm-major-re-jig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/809722\/","title":{"rendered":"Castleford Tigers icon lands maiden head coach gig as Championship club confirm major re-jig"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Castleford Tigers legend Craig Huby has landed his first role as a head coach and will take over from another ex-Tigers great in the process.<\/p>\n

The 276-game Super League prop has been confirmed as the new boss of Newcastle Thunder and will form part of a new-look coaching set-up in the north-east. He replaces Graham Steadman, who departs the side after two seasons at the helm.<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old retired from the sport in 2019 and has been in and around coaches\u2019 boxes across the Championship, including Halifax Panthers in 2024 and Sheffield Eagles in 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

Huby will be joined by Alex Donaghy, who will join the side as assistant boss. The 25-year-old is a former Newcastle full-back, and he spent his final season as a player with Workington Town.<\/p>\n

Tom Scott will take on the role of strength and conditioning, whilst Pete Ryan will be the club\u2019s physio.<\/p>\n

England LOSE Rugby League World Cup opener as group-stage exit looms! \u2013 Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n

Castleford Tigers stalwart at forefront of Newcastle Thunder\u2019s coaching reshuffle<\/p>\n

Following the confirmation of his arrival, Huby explained: \u201cI\u2019m really excited for the opportunity to take the head coach appointment at a club that\u2019s on the up.<\/p>\n

Most Read on Serious About Rugby League<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to go and excited to meet the players. We have a nucleus of the squad signed up for 2027, based around people who want to commit to Newcastle and take the club to the next level. It will look a little different from 2026 with us being part-time and back in Newcastle, but for me that\u2019s part of the excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe playing group will be expected to train at a high intensity and there\u2019s a big focus on effort areas that don\u2019t require any talent. The coaching staff will have them working hard, and it will be clear what a Newcastle player should look like. I\u2019ve played at the highest level in the UK, and I am a coach who likes to move the ball around, so fans can expect an expansive style of rugby on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huby\u2019s comments suggest that the partnership between Thunder and York Knights will be reduced. This season saw Newcastle train full-time, with the sharing of players, facilities and resources a key reason why Newcastle did so well in the second tier.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Castleford Tigers legend Craig Huby has landed his first role as a head coach and will take over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-809722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}