The coaching staff of any NRL side can be – at times – just as crucial as the playing roster as teams look to find and form the right combinations and for the Gold Coast Titans, they have further strengthened their coaching ranks, with Ben Woolf appointed as the club’s U20’s coach and Player Development Manager.

In what is a newly created position at the club, Woolf will oversee the U20’s side full-time, whilst monitoring and overseeing all the development of any junior Titan contracted to the club.

Woolf takes over from Jamie O’Connor, who working as the U20’s coach on a part-time basis.

If you are familiar with Keebra Park High School, then you would be familiar with Woolf, who has been coaching at the elite school for 12 years before being rewarded with the Titans gig – as Titans coach John Cartwright points out just how much of a boost it is for the club to have someone like Woolf on board.

“It’s exciting for our juniors to be able to have a full-time coach that’s going to be looking after them. We can provide a lot more care and prepare them better for the Under-20s as well as hopefully an NRL career,” said Cartwright.

“We had some outstanding applicants for the role, some with NRL experience, but we felt Ben’s history of developing players was an enormous asset.

“You can tell he has a passion about our local area and you can tell he has a passion about developing kids. That’s what he’s done at Keebra Park – he’s been part of a very successful program there and we want to build that type of system here at the club.

“With two extra members of the full-time staff next year, it’s going to benefit all the players without a doubt. It’s going to bring fresh ideas to the table and it’s something as a club we’re really going to benefit from.”

With the Titans boasting some impressive youngsters in their ranks, Woolf is looking forward to his new roles at the club and looks forward to working with the players at the club.

“I’m just looking forward to bringing local talent through, hopefully into the senior ranks at the Titans,’’ said Woolf.

“I enjoy working with young rugby league players, seeing them develop and get better. I think there’s definitely a lot of talent on the Gold Coast at the moment through the success of Keebra Park and Palm Beach Currumbin over the last few years.

“I look forward to helping to bring that talent through in our system at the Titans.’’

By ricky

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