Featherstone Rovers boss Paul Cooke ready to give town team to be proud of after 'surprise' appointment

Cooke had moved to Post Office Road as a number two in the off-season but suddenly found himself in the hot seat after Rovers decided James Ford was not the man to take the club forward.

The ex-Hull FC and Hull KR half-back was quickly reunited with Ged Corcoran, although he insists the wheels were already in motion to recruit his former York Knights colleague as an assistant before last week's turn of events.

"I didn't come to the club to be a head coach," said Cooke. "I came to assist James and work alongside Ian Hardman, so it was a surprise.

"Paddy (Handley, chairman) had done some background work regarding Ged coming over because I didn't know anything about that. Although when I did get appointed, I would have tried to get Ged if he wasn't already coming over.

"It's been a whirlwind week or so."

Handley gave Ford a vote of confidence at the end of 2024 when he declared that Rovers needed consistency and stability after years of chopping and changing.

However, it took just two games of the Championship season for the Post Office Road supremo to change his mind.

When Handley turned to Cooke, the decision was an easy one for the former Doncaster boss.

"It was because I'm invested with the players," said Cooke.

"It was the same last year at York when Andrew Henderson left his post. I was going to leave as well but you stay with the group because it's the right thing to do and you're invested.

"I'm invested in this team, this club and the community around us. We're going to try to build and bring people back through the gates."

The last time he held a top job in rugby league, Cooke won the Championship Coach of the Year award after leading Doncaster to a fourth-place finish.

The 43-year-old returned to coaching last year with York on an expenses-only deal and quickly proved he had not lost the knack.

A decade on from his last head coach role, the only thing that has changed is his appearance.

"I'm older, greyer and fatter," laughed Cooke, the hero of Hull’s 2005 Challenge Cup win.

"Rugby league is rugby league but being a head coach is very, very different to being an assistant coach in terms of managing the group.

"The biggest thing I wanted to bring when I came in was about being respectful – to the opposition as well as their team-mates and the coaching staff. That's the starting point.

"As far as man management goes with the players, I find that if you're straight-shooting and don't bulls**t them, you're OK.

"We've seen what Brad Arthur has done at Leeds. He kept them in until the Grand Final last year and that was a really smart piece of coaching.

"It's about cracking the whip in a very different way, which is something the group at Leeds needed."

Arthur is just one of the coaches Cooke has taken inspiration from since scaling back his punditry work to return to the coalface.

"It fascinates me," he added. "You just look at the Matt Peet stuff in the documentary about the loss at Hull KR and how that fuelled them.

"What fascinates me is tapping into everybody and finding an angle to get the best out of players.

"Ultimately, I've got to be authentic and be myself. I feel I know the group pretty well and know who I need to put an arm around. It's just about trying to get it right consistently.

"I've got Ian, who's part of the fabric of the club, next to me and Ged as well. The rest of the backroom staff are all on board and we're looking forward to seeing where the journey takes us."

Cooke made a winning start last weekend when Featherstone brushed aside League One outfit Keighley Cougars in the 1895 Cup.

Once a talented half-back himself, Cooke is regarded as an out-of-the-box thinker.

However, hard work will be the cornerstone of his Featherstone side.

"I want the team to be difficult to beat," said Cooke, who will lead Rovers for the first time in the Championship against Sheffield Eagles on Sunday.

"I want to strive to be better. Caleb Aekins scored three and he should have scored six – I want the six.

"We're going to make some subtle changes, particularly defensively which Ged will lead on.

"I don't want this club to be beaten on effort areas; I want us to be the hardest-working team and to play eyes-up rugby league to provide entertainment as well.

"What's really important for me is that we reconnect the club with the supporters and take them on the journey with us – because we need them.

"It's a really hardworking town and we've got to show that in our performances so they know we're an extension of them."