CATALANS DRAGONS have appointed John Cartwright as head coach on a short-term deal for the remainder of the season.
Cartwright continues his coaching career in Super League a month after his acrimonious exit from Hull FC.
Ryan Sheridan, who has been in interim charge of Catalans since late March, will remain on their staff alongside fellow assistants Michael McIlorum and Mitchell Pearce.
Australian Cartwright will oversee his first game on Saturday away to York Knights.
“I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season with the Dragons,” he said.
“It came about unexpectedly, which makes the challenge even more exciting. I can’t thank Bernard (Guasch, Catalans’ owner) enough for this opportunity.”
Cartwright joined Hull ahead of the 2025 season after an extensive career as head and assistant coach in the NRL and led them a seventh-placed finish in his first campaign.
But after an inconsistent start this year, the East Yorkshire club decided to approach Steve McNamara, the long-serving ex-Catalans boss, to be head coach from 2027.
While Hull initially attempted to retain Cartwright for the rest of this season, the situation quickly became untenable and the 60-year-old departed.
The Dragons have also experienced recent upheaval, with Joel Tomkins leaving as coach barely two months into his first full season after replacing McNamara, initially on an interim basis, last May.
Tomkins has since been appointed as an assistant coach with Premiership rugby union side Gloucester.
Catalans are currently eight in the Super League table, four points off the play-offs, having lost five of their seven games under Sheridan.
Successive defeats to Leeds Rhinos (46-4), Leigh Leopards (33-18) and Wakefield Trinity (58-10) in the past month underline the challenge facing Cartwright.