Rick Stone returns to coaching in Australia

Former Huddersfield coach Rick Stone has returned to rugby league after taking up a job in the women’s game.

Stone was the first Super League coach to be sacked in the 2018 campaign after Huddersfield Giants won just two of their first seven games.

The Australian, who coached NRL Newcastle Knights 72 times in two separate spells between 2009 and 2015, has since taken over the coaching reins of the Country Rugby League women’s team.

Even though he still has aspirations to coach at the highest level, Stone wants to remain around his family in Newcastle for the time being and has been impressed by some of the talent on show for Country Rugby League.

Stone told NRL.com: “I’ve been back since the middle of last year and haven’t really done anything else football-wise.

“I’ve been looked after with a few jobs at Country Rugby League.

“Coaching the women’s side, it was a good fit. I’ve got a young bloke who’s 11 and I wanted to stay around home for the next couple of years.

“They’ve got some decent players and train locally. It wasn’t a massive amount of travel apart from games in Sydney.

“Their attitude and commitment is second to none. You see and appreciate more the sacrifices in their normal lives to get to training and play.”