A vital member of the Sharks coaching staff during the premiership winning season of 2016, Steve Price will return to the Cronulla club to work alongside Craig Fitzgibbon in 2022.
Price, who departed the Sharks to take up a Head Coaching opportunity with Warrington Wolves in the UK in 2018, will join Josh Hannay and Daniel Holdsworth as the senior assistants on the Sharks full-time NRL coaching staff next season.
Price’s new contract with the Sharks is for the next two seasons.
“Steve had plenty of options after he made his decision to return to Australia and we are thrilled he chose the Sharks over the other interested clubs. His credentials are second to none and the Board and management are pleased to have secured his services,” Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta said.
“He has expressed his excitement around the rebuild off the field and was also attracted by the roster being assembled under Craig, which made this coaching opportunity at the Sharks especially appealing.
“Steve has a place in our history books as someone involved with our winning team in 2016 and we were delighted to be able to bring him home and for him to be part of what we are building here at the Sharks,” Mezzatesta said.
Incoming coach Craig Fitzgibbon was also pleased to add such an experienced coach and a man who has an impressive rugby league resume, to his staff in 2022.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Steve,” Fitzgibbon said. “While we’ve known each other for some time, the opportunity to work together is an exciting one. The experiences he’s gathered and his love for the area and club were hard to ignore
“I thought Steve’s experience in the NRL and in the Super League as a head coach, added to the fact he was an assistant in the 2016 Sharks premiership, would be an asset for myself, Josh and Daniel and we look forward to pushing each other and developing as a coaching team,” he added.
Following a coaching career at St George Illawarra, which included a premiership as head coach of their Jersey Flegg team and then another as an NRL Assistant when the Dragons claimed the NRL title in 2010, Price landed at the Sharks in 2015 and was integral to the Club’s success in 2016.
With his talents recognised overseas, Price took on the head coaching role at the Warrington Wolves, where in his first year he steered the Wolves into both the Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final, before winning the prestigious Challenge Cup in 2019.
In four years at Warrington, Price has coached over 100 games and currently this year is at 72 per cent wins.The Wolves were third in 2020 and are currently in the same position on the Super League ladder heading into the upcoming Finals series.
Price is set to return home following the conclusion of the 2021 Super League season and will begin his duties at the Sharks at the start of the 2022 pre season.
