St Helens head coach Mick Potter will leave at the end of the season, chairman Eamon McManus has announced.
McManus said it was Potter's intention to pursue a long-term career in the Australian NRL.
Potter, Super League coach of the year in 2008, said the time was right for a new challenge.
"It's always been my intention to one day coach in the NRL and it's something I truly believe I am ready for," the 46-year-old Australian said.
A former Premiership winning player with the Canterbury Bulldogs, Potter began his coaching career working as assistant to Matthew Elliot at the Bradford Bulls.
He returned to Australia to work as a coach at St George-Illawarra before being appointed head coach at the Catalans Dragons, taking the French Super League club to the Challenge Cup final in 2007.
He succeeded Daniel Anderson as head coach of St Helens at the beginning of the 2009 season, signing a two-year contract. In his first season in charge Saints lost to Leeds in the Grand Final for the third consecutive year, and were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by the Huddersfield Giants in the semi-finals.
"Mick has explained to us he has ambitions of possibly securing a place in the NRL and we wish him well in his endeavours," McManus said.
He has been a great asset to our organisation and he will be successful wherever he goes."
McManus said the club would begin a search for Potter's successor in the coming weeks but at this stage had not had contact with any prospective coaches. BBC online
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