GULLS GO WITH WOOLF AS COACH
TWEED TAKE UNDER-20 BOSS FOR TOP JOB
GOLD Coast under-20 coach Ben Woolf has been appointed the man to lead Tweed Heads into a brighter Queensland Cup future.
Beating a hot field of contenders for the role, Woolf has mentored the Titans young guns for the past four seasons, guiding the likes of Kane Elgey and Max King to NRL success.
But with the National Youth Competition in its final year before being scrapped, Woolf was out of a job until winning the race to the Seagulls post, where he will maintain his Titans link through the feeder club.
Woolf is likely to bring several under-20 Titans players with him to Piggabeen Sports Complex, a trait which no doubt would have helped his cause for the job.
“I’m really excited to get the opportunity to coach at this level,” he said.
“It’s a good period to go into the role too with the NYC competition ceasing after 10 seasons; there will be a lot of good young talent who will look to the Intrust Super Cup as a direct pathway to the NRL.”
He pipped a plethora of applicants including former Australian prop Brent Kite and one-time Maroons hardman Kevin Campion.
“Ben ticked a lot of boxes in regard to the brief the board had for the role,” Seagulls chief executive Scott Clark said.
“This is a natural progression for Ben to develop further as a coach and I know he is a good fit for the club as we embark on some exciting developments and restructure for next season.”
The 37-year-old replaces five-year Seagulls coach Aaron Zimmerle, who celebrated his final game in charge with a win over minor premiers Papua New Guinea on Sunday to dodge the wooden spoon.
His appointment also sets up an intriguing showdown against Townsville, who are coached by his older brother Kristian Woolf.
Ben’s first mission will be resurrecting the fortunes of the Queensland Cup minnow, which does not possess the same wealth as several rivals backed by leagues clubs.
Tweed this season relied on the sporadic allocations of Titans talent, though such was the injury ward of the NRL side the feeder team often ran out an inexperienced line-up.