NORTH WALES CRUSADERS are seeking their fifth coach of a troubled season after parting company with Mike Grady.

Since Carl Forster left in the wake of last year’s League One title triumph to join the coaching staff at Bradford Bulls, Dean Muir, Krisnan Inu and former North Wales women’s team chief Sean Long have also been at the helm.

The Colwyn Bay club were plunged into crisis by an insolvency event in May before a new ownership group regained RFL membership for the remainder of this season, albeit with a twelve-point deduction and needing to put together a new squad after a mass departure of previous players who had become free agents.

Since that point, the Championship’s bottom team have lost all nine games, conceding 852 points in the process.

Over the league season as a whole, they have lost 16 of 19 matches, scoring 260 points and yielding 1,298 (the tallies includes a 48-0 walkover win awarded to scheduled hosts Doncaster in May, when North Wales failed to fulfil the fixture).

Grady, 56, who started the season as coach of Salford, began a second spell as North Wales boss on June 2 (Long became director of rugby) but has lasted just six games, the last of them Sunday’s 90-0 home defeat by Newcastle Thunder.

There are five matches remaining, the next at home to Goole Vikings on Sunday week, August 2, with current owners NW Rugby League 26 Limited, led by former owner Jamie Elkaleh, working to secure RFL membership for 2027.

“North Wales Crusaders can confirm that Mike Grady has departed from his role as head coach with immediate effect,” said the club.

“Mike returned in June to guide the team through a challenging transitional period following the restructuring under new ownership.

“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Mike for his time, dedication, and efforts during his tenure. His commitment to the club, the area, and the fans has always been appreciated.

“As we look towards the future, the club’s focus now shifts entirely to building a robust foundation for the 2027 season.

“We are committed to securing a strong leader with a clear direction who will take full ownership of our rebuilding process, ensuring that North Wales Crusaders are competitive and resilient moving forward.

“The search for a new head coach is already under way, and a formal job description will be published shortly.”