Incoming Hull KR head coach Nathan Cayless has opened up on his decision to take charge at Craven Park, drawing clear parallels between the Robins and NRL heavyweights Parramatta Eels.

The former New Zealand international, who will officially succeed Willie Peters ahead of pre-season, revealed he sought advice from several former Hull KR stars before accepting the role.

Speaking in his first in-depth interview as head coach, Cayless cited the club’s rich history, passionate fanbase, and working-class identity as primary motivators for making the move to East Yorkshire.

“I just love the history of the club,” Cayless said. “It reminds me of the club that I’ve loved over here in Australia in the NRL, the Parramatta Eels.

“It’s a working-class culture. The club have had to come back a number of times from the brink in 2006. A guy that mentored me a lot when I was coming into first grade, Justin Morgan at Parramatta, he actually was the coach when they got back into the Super League.

“Michael Vella is a really good friend of mine, I’m close to him. Ben Galea, I played schoolboy footy with him. And Mark O’Neill, he’s the general manager at the Parramatta Eels now as well. I’ve been able to speak to a lot of people about the club, and to a person, they all just spoke about how much they loved their time at Hull KR.”

Nathan Cayless outlines pre-season priorities and “process-driven” mentality at Hull KR

With pre-season training fast approaching, Cayless emphasized that his immediate focus remains entirely on building team culture, hard work, and preparation rather than getting caught up in outcome targets.

The 48-year-old also expressed his excitement at experiencing the intense Hull derby rivalry firsthand after keeping close tabs on the fixture from Australia.

“A real passionate fan base, real passionate community around their rugby league,” Cayless continued. “The whole of Hull, I understand, is a real rugby league mad city. There’s a reason why they’ve got two teams, and I’ve loved watching the derby games this year, and I just can’t wait to be part of one of those.

“I won’t talk about results. I’ll talk about the process. I’ll talk about making sure that we prepare the players as best I can every single day they’re at training.

“What I will say to the whole community and fans and family… you’ll get a team that will work hard all the time. We’ve got a team that will be striving to be their best every time they go to training so they can be better every day. And then everything else will look after itself.”

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