Norris still on hunt for next-level role
FOUR-straight premierships coaching Burleigh Bears women in the South-East Queensland competition weren’t enough for Tahnee Norris to get a foot in with an NRL club.
Norris, the most capped Jillaroo, has long held aspirations of making her way through the NRL coaching system and thought the arrival of the women’s competition would be her way in.
She has playing experience, knowledge of the women’s game and its players, success as well as experience in sports high performance in her job as program manager for Australian canoeing and coaching roles in cricket and rugby sevens.
Still, not one NRLW club contacted her about being part of their coaching staff.
“That was a definite goal for me this year and unfortunately it didn’t happen,” Norris said.
“It’s something I’m so passionate about, knowing how much I’ve put into my coaching over the last couple of years, especially with the Burleigh Bears and winning lots of premierships, thinking that providing opportunities for my girls who got selected at that level and knowing how they play and knowing the women’s game. I was really disappointed to not get a call up to even an assistant coach role.”
Norris’s Bears side now brims with representative talent, including Queensland players Zahara Temara, Tallisha Harden, Rona Peters and Tazmin Gray, after having just one when she took over the side in 2015, the first year of their premiership run.
She has also nurtured young players including the Broncos’ Amber Pilley and Chelsea Lenarduzzi and expects Temara’s younger sister Chante, who plays fullback for Bears to make her mark at the elite level soon too.
Having lifted the division one side to be a dominant force in the Brisbane competition, Norris believes she could make an immediate impact with a new NRLW franchise.
“It’s knowing what’s there,” she said. “Me being around the women’s game for so long, it’s knowing what’s around and what sort of an athlete they are because I’ve either played with them or I’ve seen them grow into those positions.
“I could give you a list of 22 squad members now that I take to the Titans and say, ‘Here you go, this team could actually win the competition next year’.”
The Gold Coast Titans passed on submitting for an inaugural NRLW license because their ownership was changing and it wasn’t financially viable, however it is believed they would look at applying for a women’s team when the NRL decides to expand the competition.
Wherever Norris may get her shot, Burleigh Bears CEO Damian Driscoll knows she is ready.
“She’s the most capped Jillaroo, that doesn’t mean because you’ve played a lot of footy that you’re going to be a good coach, but she’s shown she can coach at club level and I think she’s ready for an opportunity at the next level.”