Full-on search for new Seagulls boss
TWEED Heads are considering the possibility of employing a full-time Queensland Cup coach as part of their rebuild following Aaron Zimmerle’s decision to step down at the end of the season.
Zimmerle had coached the Seagulls since 2013 and had a contract in place for next year but felt the club – who he previously had played for – needed a change to fly high again.
Tweed’s 40-14 loss to Ipswich on Saturday – their second heavy defeat after pulling off a stunning upset over the Hunters in Papua New Guinea – was to be the final straw.
“The coach’s job is to be able to keep a team constant and that’s where I felt I had failed,” said the former Titans under-20s assistant.
“That made my decision … the club means too much to me to just persist for my own ego, I guess.”
Seagulls chief executive Scott Clark praised Zimmerle’s efforts and said the search for a successor would begin next week, with a board meeting set for Monday.
The Bulletin understands there has already been interest in the position. 2013 .... 10 wins/1 draw/7 losses 2014 ................................. 15/1/8 2015 ................................. 9/1/13 2016 ............................... 6/0/17 2017 ............................... 4/0/14 TOTAL: 105 games, 44 wins, 3 draws, 58 losses
While Zimmerle has been in a part-time capacity at Tweed between his teaching job at Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, Clark confirmed the club could look to engage a full-time coach.
Whether the Seagulls have the budget to do so may come down to the revamped second-tier funding model, which is still to be finalised.
Clark said Tweed must bolster their own roster – as well as acting as a development team for Titans young guns – to once again be a frontrunner after 18 months of on-field struggles.
“The time has come where we have got to try to target a few players in certain positions to rebuild this club,” he said.
Zimmerle agreed a fulltime coach could be of benefit, unless it’s at the expense of areas such as facility upgrades.
He put forward assistant coach Matt King as a leading candidate for the 2018 top job.
As for his own career, Zimmerle for now has no intention of hunting for another coaching role other than his existing post at PBC.
“I need a bit of time to sit back and go through it all,” he said. “I just need to go through my whole planning, my approach and look at how I can get better.”
He is currently in Sydney as coach of the Australian Universities team who will tonight play the opening match of their World Cup campaign against England.