Brian McDermott

October 2021 to September 2022

When Featherstone Rovers lost their second successive Grand Final in 2021, they turned to the head coach for their 2019 victors as their new head coach for 2020. Brian McDermott had a stellar coaching CV when he became Rovers’ 34^th post war head coach.  As a front-row forward with Bradford Bulls, where he won two Super League Grand finals, two Challenge Cup finals and four Great Britain caps.

His coaching career started in the backroom at Huddersfield and his got his first head coach chance at London in 2006. In four seasons, his progress at the broncos was steady rather than spectacular, but for the 2011 he was appointed head coach of Leeds. In eight remarkable seasons there he won four Super League Grand finals and two out of four Challenge Cup finals at Wembley. For 2019 he took over new club Toronto Wolfpack who had just failed to reach Super league in the 2018 Grand Final, guiding them to their 2019 triumph over Rovers. After a poor start to the 2020 season, Toronto went into liquidation following Covid-19 restrictions. McDermott spent part of 2021 in an advisory capacity at Oldham before arriving at Post Office Road.

With an influx of experienced players, hopes were high that Rovers could ‘go one better’ in 2022, but they reckoned without a powerful Leigh squad that set the pace throughout the year. Rovers strengthened their squad too over the year, but the side failed to gel into a unit capable of challenging Leigh. Featherstone won 23 of 27 league fixtures and comfortably clinched second place, scoring over 1,000 points, even with a more conservative brand of rugby. The 1895 Cup final at Tottenham ended in disappointment at the hands of Leigh, but a surprising home defeat to Batley in the playoff semi-finals sealed McDermott’s fate and he quit.

2022 Total: Won 26 Drew 1 Lost 6 = 80.30%