SEAHAWKS WELCOME BACK COACH
YARRABAH officials need only have watched Eddie Prior resume for proof he was the right man to lead the club into the 2022 season.
Prior will be back in the hot seat, clipboard in hand, when the Seahawks begin their Cairns District Rugby League premiership defence.
It was not a hard decision for coach Sam Bann Snr and the club’s committee.
“It would be very hard to replace him as coach; just look at his record,” Bann Snr said. “I don’t think anyone can match his record.
“He won the premiership last year, he took us to the 2017 premiership.”
On that night, Prior was chaired around the ground after steering to the club to its first title in history.
Last year, the Seahawks and Innisfail Leprechauns who they beat in the 2017 decider - were pushed into extra time but managed to find a winner when Oswald Fourmile crashed over in the corner in front of the Yarrabah faithful.
But, more than the emotional connection, Prior has impressed officials with the way he’s sought to further develop his coaching.
“He does a lot of work, a lot of reading and learning to develop,” Bann Snr said.
“He’s picked up a lot of information, a lot of tips, a lot of ideas, from coaches wherever he’s gone.”
With the added pressure of being the defending premiers, Bann Snr said the club may schedule their first trial game in years to ensure they’re primed for kick-off.
“We don’t usually play trials,” he said. “The season is long enough so we just go out there and play footy.”
The new season, the first under the FNQ Rugby League banner, is expected start in late March and finals in September, though draft draws are in the works.