By MATTHEW SHAW & ALEX DAVIS
Featherstone Rovers are set to confirm the appointment of Ryan Carr as their new head coach.
TotalRL understands the 30-year-old has agreed to join the Championship club, who have now concluded their search to replace outgoing coach John Duffy, who controversially departed the club to join Leigh.
Carr, a former Wests Tigers and South Sydney Rabbitohs player, will leave his position as head coach of NSW Cup side Mounties to join Featherstone.
It’s understood officials at Canberra, the Mounties’ parent club, fielded enquires about Carr last week. The Featherstone chairman, Mark Campbell, flew out to Australia last month and is understood to have held talks with several candidates before appointing Carr.
It’s understood Matt Head, the current coach of St George Illawarra’s NSW Cup team, was also approached but turned the role down.
Carr’s coaching career started with Cronulla, working in their youth setup. In 2016 he joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs to coach their under 20s before taking his role with the Mounties a year later. His first year in charge saw him guide the Mounties to sixth in the table before bowing out in the second week of the play-offs.
Featherstone’s squad is already back in pre-season training despite being without a head coach.
When he arrives, Carr will inherit a new-look squad, with several key players leaving Rovers after they were unable to reach the top four last year. But the likes of Brett Delaney, Jack Bussey and PNG brothers Watson and Ase Boas have all been drafted in.