Ryan Carr's first words after accepting Castleford Tigers job
Ryan Carr has expressed his confidence in restoring Castleford Tigers' fortunes following the long-awaited confirmation of his appointment as head coach.
The 37-year-old, who previously worked for Featherstone Rovers and Leeds Rhinos in England, has signed a three-year deal to end Castleford's search for Danny McGuire's successor.
Carr quickly emerged as the club's number one target following McGuire's sacking in early July and held off competition from the likes of Jimmy Lenihan and Ian Watson to secure his first head coach role in Super League.
The Australian will see out the season with current club St George Illawarra Dragons before joining the Tigers in time for pre-season.
"It's an exciting opportunity," said Carr.
"It's a proud, historic club. I'm aware of where the club has been, where it came from and where it's going.
"I feel a lot of excitement on the direction that the club is heading in the near future. It deserves to be better than where it is and that's where we need to take it.
"I feel the room for growth is really fast at the club. I'm excited to get started."
Carr, who is currently serving as the Dragons' assistant coach under Shane Flanagan, led Featherstone to the Championship Grand Final in his only season in charge in 2019 while also acting as Richard Agar's number two at Leeds.
He later worked with current Rhinos boss Brad Arthur at Parramatta Eels, helping the Sydney club reach the NRL Grand Final in 2022.
Castleford director of rugby Chris Chester sought out Arthur for a reference before settling on Carr as his preferred candidate.
"I'm absolutely over the moon we've been able to get someone of the calibre of Ryan through the door at Castleford Tigers," said Chester.
"It was important we took the time we did. The board were impressed with what he had to say in the presentation and how he'll connect the playing group and the town.
"I had a good conversation with Brad Arthur, too. Brad spoke very highly of Ryan. Everyone that I've spoken to within the NRL have done nothing but speak very highly of him.
"We were always confident we'd get our preferred candidate. He blew everybody's mind with what he's going to do and how he's going to do it.
"I'm hoping to be on that journey with him over the next three years at least. He's the perfect fit for this club."
Carr will immediately set about rebuilding a struggling squad alongside Chester.
Castleford are on course for another lowly Super League finish but Chester is optimistic of a brighter 2026 with a new-look playing group.
"It's up to me to provide Ryan with the calibre of player that we need," added Chester.
"We've made some significant signings over the last two months and have still got significant cap space to play with.
"I'm excited with the squad that we've got. He's come up with some ideas around personnel and tipped me off on a couple of players over there.
"It was really important we announced the head coach first and then off the back of that there will be some announcements on signings for 2026. There are some names in there I'm sure people will be excited about.
"The Castleford people deserve a winning and successful side. The top six is a minimum target for us in 2026. I'm confident we'll get there with the coach and squad we've got."