Denis Betts confirms Newcastle Thunder exit as club prepares for part-time status

[josie andrews]

The director of rugby confirmed he would be leaving the club.

Denis Betts has confirmed he will leave Newcastle Thunder at the end of the season. The club's director of rugby said he would depart following the club's decision to return part-time next season.

The Championship side confirmed they would be reverting back to part-time status next season, just nine months since turning their squad into a full-time outfit.

In a statement last week, club chair Keith Christie said: “2022 has been a disappointing season with significant investment made into the club not translating into results on the pitch. We will engage with our players and staff regarding the way forward, and will communicate any updates in due course.”

The club is now working through the transition of returning part-time though there is some confusion as to how they plan to implement the move, with a number of players already contracted to the club next season on full-time deals.

Betts, who has taken charge of first-team matters following the departure of coach Eamon O'Carroll, confirmed to Rugby League Live that he was in the dark over the club's future plans, but that they wouldn't involve him.

Speaking after their 42-10 defeat to Halifax Panthers on Sunday, Betts said: "I know that as a part-time organisation I won't be at Newcastle next year."

Asked about the club's plans moving forward, he added: "I don't know, I can't answer the question. All I know is I've got three more games to do, two home games. It's now looking at avoiding more injuries and putting a team together to play Barrow next week. That's my focus, the idea is to get this group to the finish line then the powers that be will see what's next.

I'm in the dark. I'm disappointed. We had some bold plans that we pushed out which was a bit of bravado but the solid foundations were in place there. If it's all down to performance this year then I can take that on the chin and point that finger. I think we're a better side this year than we were last year, it's cost us a little bit more but there are reasons for that.

"We've been doing this nine months in a tough competition. But my focus has to be to get a team together. We've lost players for different reasons and a coach for other reasons. It's a tough place where aspirations are high. It's not for me at this moment in time to think about anything other than this weekend."

Betts thanked the players for their efforts during their defeat to Fax, a result that leaves them 11th in the table.

"I'm really proud of the players and how they've carried themselves this week. They've been through a couple of meetings, people from RL Cares have been in and someone from GMB, so they've been through quite a bit this week.

The biggest problem has been our inconsistency, which comes from inconsistency in training because of the injuries as we have a small squad so we don't train as often or as well as we'd like to. We've used over 40 players this year on loan or wherever and it's not a great place to bring people up because you don't get a lot of training out of them.

"We've been inconsistent in our selection and our training but they're a tight group who work hard together and they're young, that's what we tried to do when building a side, make it youthful so they can stay together for a number of years."

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... t-24821181

[widdenoldboy]

Thats a real shame, hopefully NT can continue to grow a base and come stronger at some point, they have provided a good opportunity for a few of our lads.

[fozzieskem]

Perhaps should have kept their plans more affordable till they where challenging year on year this I feel is a bigger setback than we perhaps realise at the moment.

[doc]

Shame as we now need to look for a new partner club in the championship for dual reg next season.

What struck me about the statement was the fact that they used 40 dual reg players last season. That's an astonishing number and can't help team spirit or consistency.

Now I wonder what will happen to all the Wigan old boys up there.

[Mike]

Their business plan seems like it wasn't realistic if they are ending their fulltime status after only 9 months due to lack of on field success. Surely they hadn't been planning on a SL promotion this season?