Hull Kingston Rovers have confirm that the club’s Head of Youth, John Bastian will leave his role on 31st August.
The Robins have also announced the appointments of Jason Netherton as Head of Player Development and Ben Lazenby as Academy General Manager.
Chief Executive, Paul Lakin added: “John has had a significant impact on the development and structure of our Academy, its professionalism and the standards we have set. We are now in a position to really develop our Academy system further and provide the very best pathway for our young players to prosper and achieve the ultimate goal of playing first-team rugby.
“I fully understand the reasons why the lure of working closer to home has been factored into John’s decision and we wish him the very best of luck in his future career – John will always be a friend of this club.
“Departures create opportunities and we are delighted to announce the appointments of Jason and Ben, who will both drive the Academy forwards in their respective roles.
Jason’s appointment is a seamless transition, he has been John’s right-hand man for the last couple of years and will oversee coaching and talent ID throughout the Academy. Jason is Hull KR through and through and he knows the City of Hull’s Rugby League community game as well as anybody.
“Ben comes to the club with vast experience, having worked with Tony and John at Warrington Wolves. Ben’s knowledge in how to implement the very best processes, culture, disciplines and communication lines from the Academy through to the first team will give our young players every opportunity to develop.
“From the very first time I spoke to Ben, I could see how much we will benefit from his knowledge and why Tony was also keen to have Ben involved.”
John Bastian reflected on his past year and a half with Hull KR: “It’s been a terrific time, a difficult time as well. We could never have foreseen that we’d go through a pandemic. We had eight months to get things in place, to get a staffing structure and facilities up and running.
“Then, obviously recruitment of players from U15s to U18s and establishing a reserve-grade team. The club and staff that have been involved with that can be really proud of what they’ve achieved over a short period of time. I can only see that structure becoming stronger.”
