ROHAN Smith will head to Bradford with a ringing endorsement from Gold Coast Titans head coach Neil Henry.

New Bulls boss Smith has worked as Henry’s assistant at the NRL outfit since joining them ahead of the 2015 campaign.

When the opportunity to sign a three-year deal at Bradford arose, he could not turn it down and will now seek to follow in his father Brian’s footsteps at Odsal.

The 35-year-old has served a long apprenticeship in the game in various assistant roles at several NRL clubs as well as two years at London Broncos in Super League.

Henry said: “Going to Bradford is a wonderful opportunity for Rohan and it’s a long-term appointment.

“He’s passionate about coaching and this is a great chance for him to run his own team.

“Even before he came to the Titans, he had a lot of experience of rugby league from a very early age.

“With his father having had such a long involvement in the game, Rohan certainly comes from a rugby league background.

“He started his coaching career quite early and, even though he’s only just turned 35, he’s already had a lot of experience of coaching.

“He has been very good with our younger guys in particular as a development coach.

“I’m sure that’s what Bradford will be looking for as well – the ability to bring young players through and teach them the fundamentals of rugby league.

“That includes what it means to be a professional footballer and how you prepare to be at your best when you play footie.

“Rohan has coached his own teams before anyway and being a head coach when you are running the show is certainly different to being an assistant.

“I think taking charge of a team who are striving to get back into Super League is a great opportunity for him.”

Smith will head to Bradford as soon as he receives his visa, which should be in the next fortnight, and his wife and nine-month-old son will join him in the coming weeks.

Smith lived in West Yorkshire during his father’s time in charge of Bradford and Henry added: “It’s not like England is a foreign place for Rohan because he’s spent a fair bit of time over there anyway with his father and on his own.

“That’s something which is not particularly new to him, although it will be for his family.

“Rohan’s departure will certainly leave a hole to fill and there will be a number of candidates wanting it.

“We will probably wait until the end of the season before we fill it.”