Knights deal is a myth: Woolf
TOWNSVILLE Black hawks coach Kristian Woolf has shot down suggestions he is headed to the Newcastle Knights next season as an assistant coach for the NRL team.
Rumours circulated on Twitter yesterday that Woolf had already agreed to a deal with the Knights to replace current assistant Mick Potter after four years at the helm of the Blackhawks.
Woolf is off- contract in Townsville at season’s end and caught the attention of several NRL clubs after his incredible success as coach of Tonga at last year’s World Cup.
But Woolf insisted he had not yet made a decision on his coaching future as he focused on guiding the Blackhawks to a Queensland Cup title, telling the Townsville Bulletin: “I’m not going anywhere.”
Woolf’s commitment will be a boost for the Blackhawks ahead of their top- of- the- table clash with Redcliffe at Jack Manski Oval tomorrow afternoon, which will likely decide the minor premiership.
The Blackhawks were below their best in a 27- 24 road loss to Norths last weekend, but they’ve been ultra- consistent this season, winning 13 of 15 games.
Woolf felt that success might have taken its toll, but was confident the Blackhawks could rediscover their best form in a blockbuster clash with the Dolphins.
“We’ve performed really well for a very, very long time, and I think sometimes when you’ve done that you can have a bit of a down game where blokes mentally aren’t quite at their best,” he said.
“We need to get back to the footy that we’ve played for a really long period of the year, where we’ve been defensively very tough and very difficult to find points against.
“We were very good at building pressure on the opposition and our points tend to come off the back of that.
“That’s our main focus, is making sure that we’re back to being us.”
Centre Levi Dodd is a chance of returning from a hamstring injury tomorrow afternoon, which Woolf said would be a huge inclusion for Townsville’s backline.
“He’s a very good player and a bloke that we certainly see as being in our best 17, so he’ll have a bit of an impact if he does come in,” he said.
Kick- off at Jack Manski Oval tomorrow is at 2pm, followed by the Blackhawks under- 20s at 4pm.