Tweed set up for big future
TWEED chairman Ian Paton says outgoing chief executive Paul Stephenson has primed the club for success on and off the field as he prepares to embark on a new role with the Queensland Rugby League.
As revealed by the Bulletin on Thursday, Stephenson will end his 11-month tenure as Seagulls boss on March 20 to take up the QRL’s newly-created role as state manager of match officials.
The 36-year-old, who played 55 NRL games for Manly and Cronulla, has overseen a period of great promise at the club.
The Seagulls’ Intrust Super Cup outfit last year reached the finals for the first time since 2014, while the colts also featured in the playoffs as the under-18s won the Mal Meninga Cup and national title.
Having fielded an inaugural women’s team in 2019, Tweed will also feature in this year’s new QRL Women’s competition alongside Burleigh.
Paton said Stephenson had played a vital role in those achievements and thanked him for his service.
“Paul has done an outstanding job during an exciting development stage for the club in 2018-19 and his successor will have an outstanding opportunity to take the Seagulls forward,” Paton said in a statement. “We thank Paul for his hard work that has contributed largely towards results on and off the field in a competition where we compete against clubs with far greater resources in most cases. We wish him well in this new opportunity at the QRL.”
Having played in the ISC for Tweed, Stephenson then took up an off-field role as sponsorship, operations and player wellbeing manager in 2017 before stepping into the top job last April after Matthew Jobson’s brief tenure.
“I’m really sad to be leaving after the momentum we have gathered on and off the field, particularly in the past 12 months, but roles like this with an organisation like the QRL don’t come up very often,” Stephenson said. “I leave knowing the club is in a really strong position and well placed to secure more excellent growth.”
Tweed, who will soon advertise the CEO role, play their final ISC trial against Burleigh at Pizzey Park tonight.