Adam Bettridge stands down as Newcastle Rebels coach following club appointment at Central next season

Newcastle Rugby League officials have yet to start searching for a replacement, which follows Bettridge's recent club appointment at Central from 2024.

"I have stepped aside to focus on Central," Bettridge told the Newcastle Herald on Wednesday.

Bettridge, in November, initially signed a two-year deal to mentor the Newcastle representative squad.

The Rebels have been steered by the likes of Bettridge, Aaron Watts, Matt Lantry, Phil Williams and Todd Edwards during the past decade.

* PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR points will now go behind closed doors for the remaining six rounds of the regular season. Before last weekend, Cessnock hooker Luke Huth and Macquarie halfback Bayden Searle shared the 2023 lead (10 points) just ahead of Souths dummy-half Mitch Black (nine).

* NEWCASTLE RL matches continue this weekend but one minute silence will be observed and black armbands worn as a mark of respect to the Aberglasslyn Ants player who died following an on-field incident at Fingal Bay on Saturday.

Aberglasslyn form part of the second-tier Newcastle Hunter Community Rugby League, which won't go ahead with games (June 24-25) as a "sign of support and unity".

It will be the second time in as many Newcastle RL rounds that similar tributes have been held across the competition, following the Hunter bus tragedy which claimed the lives of 10 people near Greta almost a fortnight ago.

* LADDER: Maitland 22; Cessnock 19; Souths, Wyong 18; The Entrance 16; Macquarie, Central 12; Wests 11; Lakes 10; Northern Hawks 6; Kurri Kurri 2.

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