Burgess is likely to get the assistants job, with a view to inheriting the top job after a couple of years.

Come off it. I don't even like the bloke but he took Cas from bottom of the league to a Grand Final and won a LLS. We're talking about Castleford btw not Wigan, Saints or Leeds. A team probably working with the lowest budget in the league. If you don't think that's success then I don't know what is. Powell has won has many trophies as we have in the last 8 years with much lesser teams and a quarter of our budget.

If the rumours are to believed when his tenure come's to an end at the Wolves he returning to Australia to coach, and he's name has already been mentioned as a coach for the Perth Bears.
I always thought he was being lined up for the South Sydney coaching job, but after what's happening at the Wolves this season I'm not sure, and he will have to win the challenge cup this season to have that on his CV at the very least to be a head coach in the NRL.

So where does that leave his job as Australian head coach?

From an outsider looking in the job Burgess has done has been decent enough but it all feels like how he'll be remembered will come on the back of the result Next Saturday. If he wins, then he'll go with a trophy (be that at the end of 2025 or 2026) and you can throw in another cup final, an unlucky exit in a play off semi and whatever happens beyond that cup final. A loss and a poor end to this season would change things I guess but as we sit here now, I think his time has been positive.


I'd also give him plenty of praise for the way in which he's tried to back the youngsters such as Lindop, Holroyd, Taylor-Wray, Hayes etc. When a coach is coming in to a side knowing full well he'll only be there for 2 years or 3 years at a maximum, it would've been extremely easy to throw his weight around and demand experience and experience only in the side because what happens beyond his time won't really matter to him but he's not done that and he has at least tried to get young players in to the side. A change in mindset towards developing their own players is the biggest legacy he could leave behind at Wire IMO and I think he has and is trying to do that. He's been unlucky in that regard with injuries to guys like Hayes, Wrench and now Taylor-Wray though.

Justin Holbrook favourite for the assistant job.