Ex-Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity star Brett Ferres appointed coach of Championship club
Former Leeds Rhinos Super League winner Brett Ferres has been appointed coach of a Championship club a week after hanging up his boots.
Ferres, whose other clubs included Bradford Bulls, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants, will be in charge at Goole Vikings next season. The 40-year-old stalwart retired as a player after the East Riding outfit’s final game of 2026 against Doncaster last weekend.
He succeeds the two-year-old club’s founding coach Scott Taylor who will be part of Hull FC’s backroom staff next year. Ferres joined Rhinos from Giants in 2016 and was a substitute in the following season’s Grand Final victory against hometown club Castleford.
He left Rhinos at the end of 2019 to join Featherstone Rovers, but returned on loan during the Covid-hit 2020 campaign. In total, he made 90 appearances for Leeds, scoring 15 tries.
Capped on 16 occasions by England, he also played 89 times with Tigers and 41 for Trinity in a career which included 475 senior games. Ferres said: “I’m incredibly proud to be given the opportunity to become head coach of Goole Vikings, a club and a town that has become really important to me.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of the journey from the beginning and I’ve seen first-hand how much work has gone into getting us to where we are today. What the club has achieved in such a short time is extraordinary.
“I’ve always felt I’d enjoy the move into coaching when my playing career finished and I’ve been working towards my qualifications throughout this season, so to get the opportunity to begin that next chapter here is something I’m really excited about.
“I know the group extremely well and I’ve got a huge amount of belief in the players we have here. There is strong group here, but equally there are areas where we need to improve and standards we need to keep driving.”
He continued: “I’ve played under some outstanding coaches throughout my career and I’ve tried to take something from all of them. I’ve developed some strong ideas of my own about how the game should be played, the standards we expect from players and the environment we want to create.
“I’m under no illusions about the size of the challenge. I know I’ve got plenty to learn as a coach, but I’m confident in what I can bring to the role and in those people around us. We are determined to keep pushing forward and I can’t wait to get started.”
Vikings director James Clark added: “We have undergone a really thorough review and recruitment process over recent months and, despite meeting some excellent candidates, Brett proved to be the stand-out option throughout and received unanimous approval from the board.
“His drive and determination to take on the role for the long-term and to continue the journey he has started with us was one of the things that really stood out. He is strong-minded in his views about how he wants to play the game and the standards he wants to create and those ideas align closely with our wider vision for the club.”