Electrician Liam Finn sparking into life as a head coach at Dewsbury Rams

Finn is only just over a year into his first ever role as a rugby league head coach, following his move from assistant to Simon Grix at Halifax Panthers to agreeing to the top job at the Rams in June 2022.

And coaching is something that he has always wanted to break into. He reflected:

“I had always wanted to coach since being a child and watching rugby as well as watching my Dad be a coach. But I never wanted to do it at the expense of being a player. I always wanted to be a player first, and I think most people do.

“I always had it in the back of my mind to get into coaching, not necessarily head coaching, just coaching in general.”

And although, as a player, he didn’t get the opportunity to captain at club level - he did lead Ireland at the 2013 World Cup - he believed he still had the qualities to organise his team-mates on the pitch.

“I never really captained anywhere apart from the odd time when the captain wasn't playing,” revealed Finn. “I never saw myself as a leader but part of my skills were being a good organiser and understanding the game.

“To be a good organiser you have to be able to communicate to try and move people around and get people where they need to be. That’s probably a natural leadership role in itself but, other than that, I just tried to be as good a player as I could with the limited physical abilities that I had.”

His abilities took him to Super League, where he represented Castleford Tigers in the Challenge Cup Final defeat to Leeds Rhinos in 2014.

As his playing career was coming towards an end with the Rams - who he had made over 100 appearances for between 2006 and 2009 - before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Halifax-born back began his coaching journey at Wakefield, another West Yorkshire side he had featured for in an extensive career.

“I had been coaching in the academy at Wakefield while I was playing for them but when I finished at Super League level I was on the first team coaching staff at Wakefield while still playing for Dewsbury.

“Unfortunately that didn’t work out post-COVID as they needed to trim their wage bill and was told I was surplus to requirements, which I was disappointed about, but they didn’t have the budget for two assistants.

“When I finished playing at Dewsbury I was going to have a break. And then Si (Simon Grix) rang me to ask me if I’d get back into it with Halifax, which is another club close to my heart and he’s a good mate of mine and I wanted to help him out.

“The only thing I felt bad about coming to Dewsbury was the short time that I’d had working with Si when he gave me that opportunity.

“It was just something that I couldn’t say no to. When I got the phone call from Mark (Sawyer) it was too hard to say no to a club that has had a big influence on my career.

“I just wanted to try and help them out and jumped in to be a head coach.”

Asked how he manages being a part-time head coach and family-man, as well as being a full-time electrician at Horbury-based Hirst Electrical, owned by former Huddersfield player Bob Hirst, Finn said:

“It’s not easy when you’re part time for players and coaches. It takes up a big chunk of your life and you have to love it to be doing it. It is a heavy workload when you have got to work as well but I always said that, as a player when I was part-time, that I would play the game for free.

“It is what I enjoy doing and it is what I have loved all my life. It puts a lot of strain on your family but I still probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I am an electrician by trade, and they have been pretty good to me and are quite flexible with my rugby so I am thankful to them as well.”

And while Finn is fully concentrated on Dewsbury’s final four games of the 2023 campaign, at which is current contract is due to expire, he has revealed his ambitions for the future.

“My ambition is to be as good a coach as I can be,” he said. “Progression in terms of opportunity in this country is Championship and then Super League, and Super League is full time.”

He added: “I’m not going to draw the line at anything. I want to go as high as I can and be as good as I can be. That depends on a few things but the only thing I can control is how well I do and how hard I work and if opportunities come in good time, and in due course, then I’ll have to weigh that up.

“At the minute I am happy doing what I am doing and we’ll see how it goes week to week.”