Leigh have confirmed that former North Queensland coach Ian Millward will leave the Championship club at the end of the season to return to Super League with Castleford.

The 51-year-old former St Helens and Wigan boss has been given the job of succeeding fellow Australian Terry Matterson, who is leaving the Tigers at the end of the season after six years to return home with his family.

Millward has been out of Super League since being sacked by Wigan in 2006 but has spent the last two years turning around the fortunes of Championship club Leigh and last month guided them to victory in the Northern Rail Cup.

"Ian is ready for a new challenge," said Leigh's acting chairman Keith Freer.

"Ian is without doubt one of the best coaches in the game of rugby league and it is because of this that our team has visibly improved over the last two years and recently won the Northern Rail Cup.

"We will miss his drive, commitment, humour, his charm and downright decency. In particular we will miss his encyclopedic knowledge of the whole sport and his every ready advice.

"We are in the process of developing many new projects and Ian has been involved with and supportive of all of them and will continue to support all these new initiatives.

"We have had preliminary discussions with Castleford with regards forming a partnership involving the dual registration of young Tigers starlets gaining first team experience with Leigh."

Millward began his head coaching career at Leigh in 1998 and, after being recruited by St Helens two years later to take over from Ellery Hanley, he enjoyed five years of success at Knowsley Road.

Millward guided Saints to two grand final triumphs and success in the Challenge Cup in 2001 and 2004 as well as the World Club Challenge.

Sacked by St Helens in May 2005 for misconduct, he was sensationally appointed as Wigan coach a fortnight later but lasted less than a year in the job after failing to arrest the club's slump.

Millward returned to Australia in 2007, when he became assistant coach at NRL club North Queensland.

Millward became head coach of the Cowboys in May 2008, when Graham Murray resigned mid-season.

He then worked alongside David Furner at Canberra, before taking up a third stint at Leigh, whom he guided to victory in the Northern Rail Cup final earlier this year.

He was thought to have been on the short-list for the recent Salford vacancy which was eventually filled by his close friend Matt Parish.

Castleford were one of four Super League clubs still looking for coaches for 2012, although Wigan are thought to have made a decision to promote assistant Shaun Wane to take over from Michael Maguire.

Hull KR look certain to appoint an Australian to succeed Morgan, with chairman Neil Hudgell due to fly to Australia shortly to conduct interviews.

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