The Western Clydesdales have today announced Jason Alchin as Head Coach of their 2023 HostPlus Cup squad.

Alchin will start as Clydesdales Head Coach immediately as he works on assembling a squad for next season from scratch.

He joined the Toowoomba-based club last month as under 21s mentor and will remain as Hastings Deering Colts Coach for the rest of the 2022 season while also working on assembling a squad and preparations for 2023 HostPlus Cup pre-season.

Alchin played 111 NSWRL games for the Bulldogs, St George and Wests in Sydney from 1985-95 before getting into coaching.

The former NSWRL premiership-winning fullback began coaching the Wests reserve grade team before gaining more experience coaching with other Sydney clubs.

Alchin then moved north and continued coaching, including time in the Mal Meninga Cup, on top of working in recruitment and pathways for NRL club the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who are now affiliated with the Clydesdales.

“It’s a really exciting time to be part of the Clydesdales and it’s an honour to be appointed HostPlus Cup coach for our first year back in the competition,” Alchin said.

“There is a big job ahead putting together a competitive squad for next year, but I’m looking forward to providing opportunities for guys to play at this level.

“We’re committed to giving some local guys a chance in the squad and are also looking at some other experienced HostPlus Cup players to help build a competitive squad.

“I’ll be getting in touch with some players we’re interested in. We also welcome any other experienced Cup players interested in being part of an exciting era for the Clydesdales to get in contact with the club.”

Clydesdales Chairman Tony Coonan is excited about Alchin’s appointment and preparing for the 2023 HostPlus Cup.

“I’m thrilled to have Jason on board as our HostPlus Cup Head Coach for next year given his experience in the game,” Coonan said.

“It has been great seeing Jason work with our Colts over the past month and I’m looking forward to seeing him work with our Cup squad in pre-season.

“Now we’ve been admitted to the HostPlus Cup from 2023 and announced Jason as our Head Coach, our focus moves to putting together a quality Cup squad for next season.

“It’s great that we can now provide opportunities for our local players in the HostPlus Cup and we also know that we’re going to need some experienced Cup players to complement that promising local talent.

“We’d love to see some of the guys from our region who have moved away in search of opportunities come back home and be part of this exciting new era for the Clydesdales.”