Cayless is expected to arrive in east Hull in the coming weeks
Nathan Cayless will take charge of Hull KR ahead of the 2027 Super League season(Image: Getty)
Hull KR are preparing to enter a new era under Nathan Cayless and it won’t be long before he arrives in east Hull to pick up the reins at Craven Park.
The former New Zealand international is expected to arrive in the coming weeks and his first pre-season will get underway shortly after.
He’ll be walking into a club that is hungry to return to winning ways after a tough end to the 2026 season under Willie Peters and with a handful of new signings to help him make his mark, Cayless will be confident of being able to make swift progress with the Robins.
With that in mind, here’s a look at just some of the jobs that will be in his in-tray come the start of pre-season.
Integrate new signings
Rovers have announced two signings in Eddie Hampson and Moala Graham-Taufa and a couple more announcements are believed to be on the way. Those new signings can be considered to be Cayless’ men and it’ll be up to him to make sure they fit in and add value to the current crop.
Hampson is highly rated and he looks like he has the ability to be the ideal man to replace Rhyse Martin. Graham-Taufa provides outside back coverage in place of the departing Joe Burgess but it remains to be seen if he will play at centre or on the wing.
Integrating all of his new signings effectively over the coming months will certainly help when it comes to helping him hit the ground running in Super League and send out a message that he is the right man to follow on from Peters.
Get the best out of Mikey
Undoubtedly one of the major factors between Cayless being a success at Craven Park and not will be the form of Mikey Lewis.
The stand-off had an up and down 2026 season with confidence and discipline deserting him, particularly in the final few months of the season.
However, every KR fan knows what Mikey is capable of when he’s fit, firing and in the right headspace. Cayless will be keen to work closely with him then over the coming months to ensure the half-back can draw a line under this year’s struggles and return to his magical best in 2027.
Connect with the community
What Peters did so well at KR was make an effort to get to know the supporters and the community of east Hull in general. He quickly got a grasp on the traits and attributes of the city’s population and he built a team in that image with KR being known for their grit and willingness to work hard for their rewards.
In order to fully understand the club and what it means to its supporters, Cayless will surely be keen to get out there, meet people and familiarise himself with his surroundings.
Tackle errors and discipline
KR finished the season at the top of Super League’s missed tackle count and that goes a long way towards explaining the drop off the club experienced in 2026.
Rovers missed 1002 tackles in 2026, which is 34 more than Catalans Dragons in second and more than 200 more than Wakefield Trinity and Warrington Wolves who will be competing in this weekend’s Grand Final.
On top of that, KR were second for errors made in 2026 with 297, with wooden spoon winners Bradford Bulls the only side to make more (304).
Their discipline appeared to drop right off too with Rovers receiving eight yellow cards, one red and what seemed to be a raft of Match Review Panel charges and bans.
Nipping those errors in the bud and getting on top of discipline is a must for Cayless.
Assess the youngsters
Rovers have been working hard to bolster the quality coming out of their academy in recent years and the club now have a number of promising youngsters on the fringes of the first-team picture.
That was demonstrated on two occasions in the final three rounds of the season with Peters giving youth a chance in games against Wigan Warriors and St Helens with the latter game in particular showing plenty of encouraging signs.
KR know that one of the keys to sustained success is a strong production line and Cayless will be expected to work with and provide opportunities to youth down the line.