Wests Tigers are pleased to announce new additions to the Club’s Football Department for the 2015 season.
Head Coach Jason Taylor and General Manager of Football Operations Phil Moss have spent the past month interviewing a number of quality candidates for positions within their team.
Following on from this, the Club is pleased to welcome on board Matthew Cameron and Rod Reddy, who along with David Kidwell, will form the Wests Tigers three Assistant NRL coaches for the upcoming season.
They will be joined by Brett Kimmorley, who is the new Under 20s Head Coach, and incumbent NSW Cup Head Coach Paul Fletcher.
The High Performance Unit at the Club will also welcome new additions in Corey Bocking (Physical Performance Manager), Marcus Kain (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Blake McLean (Sports Science and Strength Coach) and Keegan Smith (Physical Performance Consultant).
Retained in their existing roles from the 2014 season are Simon Dwyer (Video Analyst), Tony Carson (Football and Welfare Manager), Dr Peter Lorentzos (Chief Medical Officer), Peter Moussa (Physiotherapist) and Vince Marando (Gear Manager).
Head Coach Jason Taylor said that he’s very impressed with the wide range of experience which the coaching staff will bring to Wests Tigers for the 2015 season.
“We’ve assembled a team of professionals from a range of areas who we believe have the skill set and drive to bring the best out of every player in the Club,” said Taylor. “The Club has undergone a lot of change recently and I’m confident that our Members and supporters will see a positive effect when we take the field for round one.”
The quality support staff that both Taylor and Moss have appointed have a wealth of Rugby League expertise and will help ensure that Club's football department will operate at a highly professional standard.
Matthew Cameron enjoyed a successful past two seasons with the Penrith Panthers as High Performance Manager, which followed on from a lengthy 15-year tenure at the Parramatta Eels where he held various coaching roles.
Currently in New Zealand with the Kiwi squad as Assistant Coach, David Kidwell will continue on with the Wests Tigers for 2015 after joining the Club a year ago.
Rod Reddy brings to Wests Tigers a wealth of First Grade experience, both on and off the field. In a career spanning 14 seasons Reddy took to the field 204 times for the St George Dragons and 33 times for the Illawarra Steelers, representing his country in 17 Test Matches.
Brett Kimmorley, an experienced halfback of 307 NRL games, will take the reins of the Wests Tigers Holden Cup side after holding previous assistant NRL roles with both the Bulldogs and Canberra since his retirement in 2010.
Since the formation of the Wests Tigers NSW Cup side at the beginning of the 2013 season, Paul Fletcher has taken the side to consecutive finals appearances and will continue on in his role of Head Coach.
Welcoming on board experienced professionals in the Club’s High Performance Unit will ensure there is a key focus on elite performance and the implementation of appropriate training programs and techniques.
Corey Bocking will head up the department as Physical Performance Manager, who after his previous positions as Head of Athletic Development at Knox College, General Manager of Performance Training Institute and Sydney Thunder Strength and Conditioning Coach, will bring a wealth of expertise in this important area.
Bocking will be joined by Strength and Conditioning Coach Marcus Kain, who has over 10 years’ experience in similar roles with NSW Country Eagles Rugby Union, Canon Eagles Rugby (Japan), ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby and NRL Club St George Illawarra.
Another experienced staff member coming board is Blake McLean, who will take up the role of Sports Science and Strength Coach and has most recently been employed at AFL Club, Collingwood for over four years and was also the New South Wales Rugby League’s Sport Scientist during this season’s historic series win over Queensland.
Rounding out the new additions to the High Performance Unit is Keegan Smith, who will be the Club’s new Physical Performance Consultant and brings over 11 years’ experience in working with professional athletes while also having previous appointments with the Sydney Roosters and Catalans Dragons.
Wests Tigers CEO Grant Mayer said that Taylor and Moss had worked tirelessly since starting with the Club and had put together an impressive coaching group.
“Jason and Phil have hit the ground running here at Wests Tigers and have brought together an impressive group of individuals to make up their coaching staff,” said Mayer. “We’re impressed with the direction they are taking the Club in and look forward to welcoming the players back in next Wednesday to kicks start the pre-season.
“It’s an exciting time to be involved with Wests Tigers and I’m sure our Members and supporters are doing exactly the same as us here at the Club and already counting down the days to round one,” he said.
Wests Tigers will welcome the new coaching staff on board officially once pre-season training gets underway this Wednesday, November 5.
