Hull Kingston Rovers have announced the appointment of Jason Netherton as the Head of Academy Youth Coaching.

The Hull-born back-rower made over 150 appearances for the Robins between 2005 and 2014, and upon his retirement from the game joined the City of Hull Academy set-up from its inception.

First becoming the Embed The Pathway manager before taking the reins as the head coach at Bishop Burton, Netherton has found himself back at his spiritual home of KCOM Craven Park.

Speaking to hullkr.co.uk, Netherton said: “I’ve been away for a few years but I’m glad to be back at Rovers. It’s strange the way it has come about, with the split of the Academy.

“The COHA concept may well go down as a failure to some people but I don’t think it ever was. If you look at the results from COHA, we got some great players through and would’ve carried on.

“I completely understand the reason for coming back together with reserves returning and I’m glad I’m back at Hull KR, as this is my club. I’m looking forward to getting some kids through the Hull KR system with the Hull KR identity.

“The vision for me is to get Hull KR embedded in these players. A criticism that was labelled at the City of Hull was that the players had no identity. We want these kids to be proud to play for that Hull KR badge and they will do.”

Explaining his role further, Netherton added: “The main part for me will be coaching the under-18s but I’ll be in charge of the coaching programme and philosophies from the 18s down.

“I’ll be working closely with the head coach to ensure the club’s philosophies will feed right down from the first-team to the under-15s.

“John Bastian (head of youth) has been great for me, he’s highly regarded within the game. He has some great contacts and he’s very knowledgeable in youth development. He’s made me think about things differently in such a short space of time.

“The clean slate has been really refreshing for us – we can build to whatever we want and everyone has been really happy, parents and players, with how it’s gone so far.”

Bastian added: “Jason has a good reputation here at Hull KR, certainly as a player, he gave a hell of a lot for the club. He’s well respected by staff, the fans and past players.

“He’ll lead up the under-18s and support other coaches that are coming through our ranks.

“It’s a significant role with plenty of responsibility and accountability for Jason. He’s certainly looking forward to that challenge to progress and develop as a young and aspiring coach.

“He’s helped me enormously over this last month. He’s been very thoughtful in what he’s done to help progress things quickly. He’s thrown his hand up – when someone new comes into an organisation the one thing you need is support and help from others that know the city and the players, the people and Jason has been very good in that area.”

Source & Image: www.hullkr.co.uk