NORTH WALES CRUSADERS have appointed former Hunslet boss Dean Muir as their new head coach.

Muir succeeds Carl Forster, who stepped down after leading the club to the League One title in order to take up a Super League role.

Forster spent three years at the Crusaders helm, the first two as player-coach.

The task of leading North Wales into a merged Championship next season has been given to Muir, who spearheaded Hunslet’s promotion to the second tier in 2024 but left in June with the club bottom of the table.

Before that, he was an assistant at Keighley Cougars and head coach with National Conference League side West Bowling,

Muir said: “I am delighted to be here with Crusaders and I look forward to building the club further on the back of a successful 2025.”

North Wales owner Arun Watkins said: “What made Dean stand out from the plethora of applications was his energy and passion for our project.

“We aim to support Dean’s initiatives as we start the next phase of our journey to make the Crusaders the best we can be.”