Kieron Purtill shares goals of becoming a head coach once again in future
Hull FC assistant coach Kieron Purtill has shared his goals of becoming a head coach once again in the future.
Purtill has worked at St Helens, Huddersfield and Leigh, and was also head coach of England Knights, winning the 2012 European Cup. He also led England’s academy and was the boss of Canada’s international side.
The 45-year-old joined Hull ahead of the 2020 campaign from Widnes Vikings, where he was last a head coach for the 2019 Championship campaign.
Asked if he would like to become a head coach again one day, Purtill responded: “I think I would at some point. It’s something I’ve done previously. But in the previous ones, it’s probably not worked out exactly the way I wanted it to.
“It’s something that is there on my mind. I’ve always said I’m a bit of a career coach. I’d want to stay it in for long term. If the right opportunity ever came along, it’s something I’d seriously consider.”
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Kieron Purtill working with youth at Hull
As assistant coach at Hull, Purtill’s job includes working with the reserves team and bringing through the next generation of players within the Super League outfit.
“When I first joined the club, my first role was helping that transition of the young players,” Purtill added.
“It’s not an overnight process. It’s three years now I’ve been at the club and the club’s changed dramatically behind the scenes with the junior setup, the infrastructure and the training facilities are on the way.
“The recruitment process has all been put in place and there’s loads of work being done behind the scenes. We are just starting to see the tip of the iceberg of that now, so it’s really pleasing to see.
“Ideally, we’d like to be turning a full 13 out of homegrown players. Now that’s the ideal situation. I don’t think there’s many clubs who get a full 17 of homegrown players. They always sprinkle that with some quality, whether that’s from Super League or overseas.
“But eventually we’d like to get to the point where we’re starting 13 with all players that come through our system.”
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