Hemel Stags coach Troy Perkins has announced that he is stepping down after 12 seasons with the club.
Perkins joined the Stags in 2006 as player-coach and immediately took the club to a NL3 Grand Final appearance against Bramley. In the following seasons in NL3/RLCN, Hemel consistently made the play-offs and in 2012 won the RLCN Grand Final defeating Underbank Rangers.
This preceded the Stags being one of the expansion clubs to join League 1 in 2013, where they reached the play-offs before repeating the performance in 2014.
The change of Championship 1/League 1 in 2015 from a development league to a performance league put huge pressures on Hemel as a club, they said in a statement, but Perkins remained fully committed to his role.
And they said in the statement confirming Perkins’ departure that the pressures and burden surrounding travel to Hemel from Perkins’ Coventry home is the reason for his departure.
Hemel Stags Chairman Bob Brown commented: “Troy’s professionalism and commitment to the Hemel Stags ethos throughout his long stay with the club has been outstanding. He has been one of the heroes of rugby league in the South of England.”
The club will make an announcement next week on the new coaching set-up for 2018 and also on changes to their training base and administrative set-ups.