CATALANS DRAGONS coach John Cartwright hopes he can instil some stability following a less-than impressive campaign.
The Australian moved to the south of France in May after being released by Hull FC, and although it has been a bumpy ride, he believes if the Dragons can get their recruitment right, they can be a force in Super League.
After a ninth-place finish, Cartwright will be working hard along with Ben Garcia – who has retired as a player to become director of rugby – to ensure Catalans are ready to go in the new year.
“We’ll rest, recover and reflect,” he said of his immediate plans.
“But the work behind the scenes never stops with recruiting and retaining and all that planning. That will go on.
“It has been a really tough year for the club. I’m the fourth coach they have had in 18 months (after Steve McNamara, Joel Tomkins and interim Ryan Sheridan).
“The football manager (Neil McIlroy) has moved on, but Benny Garcia has been helping me out with recruiting, although it has been a really tough gig for him because he has still been playing.
“If you want to be successful, I think one thing that is proven is you need stability. You need a good steady number of senior players, you need a good bunch of youth, and you need some underneath applying pressure on the players who are in the squad.”
Joe Burgess and Alex Mellor have been signed to be two of those senior players, the 31-year-olds each penning two-season deals following their release from Hull KR and Castleford Tigers respectively.