Super League is laden with top coaching talent at the moment. Yes there are some new faces such as Paul Wellens who is making his coaching debut at St Helens, but every club has a top coach for sure.
But which club has the best coach in the league?
Here’s our top five:
5. Matty Peet – Wigan Warriors
One year under his belt and Peet is already looking like a top coach. He plays effective attacking rugby and led Wigan to a 20th Challenge Cup as well as an unbeaten record at home in the regular season.
4. Rohan Smith – Leeds Rhinos
To take Leeds from scrapping against relegation to the Grand Final took a miracle and Rohan Smith delivered it. He plays a unique brand of rugby which is very easy on the eye and certainly fits the modern game to a tee. It remains to be seen what he can do in his first full season at the club.
3. Paul Rowley – Salford Red Devils
Few coaches have developed the level of attacking rugby Paul Rowley has and it was there for all to see at Salford last year as he took them to within 80 minutes of the Grand Final and the Red Devils look set to push for the top four in 2023.
2. Ian Watson – Huddersfield Giants
Ian Watson took Salford Red Devils from battling relegation to the Grand Final in 2019 in one year. He then took them to Wembley in 2020. He is now turning Huddersfield into a genuine title threat. They finished third in 2022 and reached the Challenge Cup Final and 2023 offers more success.
1. Tony Smith – Hull FC
Wherever he has gone, Tony Smith has achieved success. He developed Huddersfield Giants at the start of the century, he then guided Leeds Rhinos to the start of a trophy laden decade before awakening the sleeping giant at Warrington Wolves winning five trophies in his time at the Halliwell Jones. He then took Hull KR from battling relegation to 80 minutes from Old Trafford in 2021 before guiding them to the 2022 Challenge Cup semi-finals. He will be hoping to have a similar transformative effect across the city.
