Explore the History and Heritage of Featherstone Rovers
Coaches
Looking back to 1921 when Rovers first joined the league, at that time clubs didn’t really have a coach per se. The responsibilities that lie with the modern day coach were undertaken by a variety of people rather than one figurehead. In those days, team selection and recruitment was done by the committee. As the club had a large number of committee men, a rugby sub-committee, containing one or two former players, would have been formed to oversee team selection. On-field tactics would have been in the hands of the senior players in the team, who would decide on the style of play and what needed to be done during the match. Of course, until the 1960s there were no substitutes in rugby league, so another important aspect of the modern coach’s mandate didn’t exist. Finally, the training sessions and general fitness of the players was in the hands of the trainer, which in the case of Featherstone Rovers in 1921, was Mr. Billy Williams, a Rovers legend if ever we’ve had one. It was only in the 1940’s that the concept of the coach as we understand it today began to emerge. It took until the 1970’s when one of our more forceful coaches (one Peter Fox esq.) pushed the issue that the coach got to pick the team.
Below you will find articles on all the Featherstone coaches in chronological order describing their time in charge and their records as coach.