Paul Rowley appointed Castleford Tigers head coach on three-year deal
Paul Rowley was appointed head coach of Castleford Tigers on a three-year contract on 13 October 2026, the Super League club confirmed. The 51-year-old returns to the competition after leaving St Helens in July.
Rowley had been out of work since stepping down at St Helens midway through his first season in charge after losing six of his last 10 games for the club. Castleford had been without a head coach following Australian Ryan Carr's departure in August for personal reasons, and finished second-bottom in Super League with eight wins from 27 games; the club received an A score in the IMG ratings released last week.
The Tigers will be the third Super League club Rowley has managed, following spells at Salford Red Devils and St Helens. He led Salford into the play-offs in 2022 and 2024 while overseeing an attacking style of rugby before severe financial issues at the club led to his exit.
Rowley was then appointed by St Helens but endured an injury-hit, difficult spell and left with Saints sixth in the table; the club ultimately missed out on the play-offs. He had departed Salford earlier after the club's financial turmoil preceded his move to St Helens.
He moves to West Yorkshire to take charge of a Castleford side that have not reached the play-offs since 2019 and have just seen local rivals Wakefield Trinity win the Grand Final; Cas were only kept off the bottom of Super League by Bradford Bulls. The club has publicly expressed hope that Rowley can rejuvenate the team.
"Paul has a proven track record of building competitive teams, developing players and creating an attacking brand of rugby that supporters can get behind," said Castleford director of rugby Chris Chester. "He has a real passion for the game, strong leadership qualities and a clear vision of how he wants his teams to play." The club’s announcement also referenced Rowley’s previous team-building work at Leigh, Toronto and Salford, incoming NRL signings named in reports including Damien Cook, Mat Feagai and Tyrell Sloan, the addition of Robbie Mulhern to the pack, a close relationship between Rowley and Chester from their Halifax days, and a list of departures at the end of last season that could create recruitment opportunities.
Castleford will look to Rowley to reverse a run that has left them outside the play-offs since 2019 and to improve a team that finished second-bottom in the most recent Super League campaign.