Neil Hudgell has hailed Nathan Cayless as a ‘topline appointment’ after confirming the incoming Hull KR boss will arrive in England in November.
Cayless, the former New Zealand international captain, has agreed a three-year deal from 2027 and will make the move from Australia following the conclusion of the Rugby League World Cup.
The Parramatta Eels New South Wales Cup head coach is also currently an assistant coach with New Zealand, working under Stacey Jones.
He will succeed Willie Peters at the end of the year following the Australian’s remarkable tenure, which has seen the Robins emerge as one of rugby league’s biggest success stories after claiming every trophy on offer.
“He’s coming over in early November. We’re excited about it,” Hudgell said of Cayless on Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
“Paul Lakin (CEO) did the majority of all that, so you’d have to ask him about the man and a bit of the details.
“Nathan, we think, is a topline appointment. A little bit different to Willie, we’re excited to get him across. He watches everything remotely, including training sessions and all sorts.”
Hudgell also revealed work is continuing at Sewell Group Craven Park, with the club recently confirming the East Stand seating section and South Stand will remain in place for the 2027 Super League season.
The Robins announced on Friday night that they had recorded an average attendance of 11,787 across 2026 – the highest ever at Craven Park.
Their Round 26 clash with Huddersfield Giants also marked the final home game for record-breaking head coach Peters.
Now Hudgell says the club’s next challenge is to improve its facilities and build for the future.
“The club has got some new goals now to achieve. What’s going on here (Sewell Group Craven Park) is one of the big goals, to get some of the facilities developed,” Hudgell said.
“It’ll be an incremental development. We’ve got planning permission and funding in place that we’ll be announcing shortly. There’s stuff going on in the front, then bit by bit. It won’t be anything transformative overnight, but the first thing is to improve our facilities.
“Strategically as a club, our ideas were that we’ve got to achieve at a senior level to be able to be more attractive to people. Once we’re more attractive to people, we’ll then turn our eye on how we make that squad a little more younger. It’s all part of a deliberate plan.”