JOHN Cartwright will sit down next week to discuss whether he will extend his stay with Catalans Dragons beyond this season.
The former Australia international succeeded Joel Tomkins as head coach of the Perpignan-based club in May, following his acrimonious departure from Hull FC.
Cartwright’s contract with the Dragons runs until the end of the 2026 Betfred Super League campaign, although the 60-year-old revealed talks on potentially extending his stay are on the horizon.
- Tyson Gamble open to Super League move
- Sam Powell set to leave Warrington Wolves
- Rugbyleaguehub.com on YouTube | Rugbyleaguehub.com on Facebook
“I’m still finding my feet down there,” Cartwright told Sky Sports ahead of Catalans’ Super League match away to Warrington Wolves on Thursday.
“It happened so quickly, five or six weeks has gone really quickly, but I’ve got to say I’m really enjoying it.
“I’m enjoying the players, enjoying the staff, and it’s been a bit of a refreshing change for me.
“You never say never, we’ll be in discussions with the club next week, but I will say I’m loving the job down there.”
Going into the round 16 match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Catalans had won three and lost one in Cartwright’s four games at the helm and sat eighth in the table, four points off the play-off places.
The former Gold Coast Titans boss admitted the language barrier was something he had found challenging initially, albeit overcoming that with the help of his French staff and players.
But he is enjoying life in the south of France so far and is encouraged by what he as seen from the team so far.
“I’m still learning the players, I’m still learning the style of footy, I haven’t even looked at the draw to see how we go with home games and away games coming up,” Cartwright said.
“For me, the first thing I said to the players is it’s about improvement each week.
“It’s been a little hot and cold throughout the year, so we just want to get some consistency and see little bits of improvement each week.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
