Castleford Tigers have continued their off-season restructuring with a new assistant coach confirmed to join Danny McGuire.
McGuire was announced late last week as the new head coach at Wheldon Road after previous incumbent Craig Lingard was dismissed on Monday.
The moves were part of the first week of Martin Jepson’s spell as owner of the club with the investor having bought out the Fulton family to increase his shares from 32% to almost 100%.
McGuire’s appointment also came after it was confirmed that the club had Grade A status after sneaking past the 15-point barrier to guarantee a place in Super League.
Attention quickly turned to who McGuire would hire as his assistant, given that the former Leeds Rhinos man had been the previous assistant to Craig Lingard.
Eyes quickly focused on Hull KR assistant and former teammate of McGuire, Brett Delaney, something that was only heightened when the Robins announced that they were terminating Delaney’s contract – but that he left with “the best wishes of everyone at the club”.
For those who had put two and two together, the answer has now been confirmed as four.
Brett Delaney confirmed as Castleford Tigers assistant
That’s because Castleford Tigers have announced Brett Delaney as their new assistant coach with Danny McGuire hailing his former teammate as ‘one of the best defensive coaches in the game’.
The 39-year-old Delaney joins the project at The Jungle after his release from Hull KR, with the two Leeds Rhinos legends set to lead the Tigers for the upcoming years.
Speaking on the appointment of his ex-teammate, head coach McGuire said: “In taking on the head-coach role it was essential to me I got the right person by my side and I’m really happy Brett has decided to join us at Castleford. In my opinion, he is one of the best defensive coaches in the game and will be a real asset to the club.
“He has a lot to bring to the table. The lads will benefit from his experience and coaching style and I’m really looking forward to working alongside him again”
Delaney added: “I’m looking forward to joining Cas and working with Magsy again. It will be a new challenge for me, with a new group. I’ll be leading on the defensive side of things and I’m looking forward to putting some different systems in place”
McGuire had spoken on the challenge when he explained why he felt he was ready to take on a head coaching gig, explaining: “I’ve always said I’d like to be a head coach at some point. I wanted to earn my stripes. I wanted to do the time and be an assistant and do it the right way, which I feel like I have.
“This opportunity has come about and I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I’m ready to take it now. I feel like I’ve got the experience. I feel like I’ve learned a lot playing and under some really good coaches as well.”
Together, the pair will take Castleford Tigers forward with the club hoping to break the spell of poor seasons and return to become a contender in Super League, and few men boast better experience at winning than McGuire and Delaney.