North has appointed Panthers flag winning mentor Krissie Steen as its women’s coach for 2020
She’s won a state league women’s flag with South Adelaide and spent time at GWS – now Krissie Steen is aiming to bring that success to North Adelaide as its new SANFLW coach.
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North Adelaide has announced an ex-South Adelaide mentor as its women’s coach for next season.
Krissie Steen, who led the Panthers to their inaugural SANFLW premiership in 2018, will be at the helm of the Roosters women’s team in 2020.
Steen replaces Matt Slade who had held the reins since North’s first SANFLW season in 2017.
Slade led them to two flag deciders (2017, 2019) and a preliminary final appearance in 2018.
Steen, meanwhile, returns home to Adelaide after spending this past AFLW season as an assistant coach with the GWS women’s team.
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The 45-year-old, whose partner is ex-Giants AFLW star Courtney Gum, was honoured to have been given another crack at a senior coaching job.
She was keen to help the Roosters to another grand final and hopefully a premiership after losing this year’s to South Adelaide.
“I’m stoked,” Steen said.
“My greatest growth has been from being an assistant but I feel like it’s probably time for me to go back and lead my own team.
“The way they (North) view their women’s program is very much in line with my aspirations for women’s football so we seem to have fitted perfectly with one another.
“A premiership is the ultimate result and I guess that’s every player’s dream.
“But I won’t change my true reason for coaching and that is to see people reach their individual potential.
“I’ll be happy to see them (the players) improve, to run a fantastic program and if that results in a premiership then that’s the cherry on the top.”
Steen, of Port Noarlunga, said she learnt valuable lessons from spending time with the Giants, especially as she was also allowed to sit in on the men’s coach meetings.
“Getting to work so closely with Mark McVeigh (Giants academy coach) and Lenny Hayes (GWS assistant) … gave me a much greater understanding of the game from an elite players’ perspective and then how to bring that into the women’s game.
“It was an unbelievable experience – having an open door policy where I was able to go into all of the coaches’ meetings and see how they planned … I couldn’t have asked for a better education.”
North Adelaide has a SANFLW trial for players interested in lining up with the team next season this Thursday (September 26) from 6pm.
Location was still to be confirmed at presstime.
To register, email North Adelaide football director Darryl Wintle – darryl.wintle@nafc.com.au
