SCGRL off-season transfer tracker: 2025 A-grade recruits and coaching changes
The SCGRL off-season continues to make waves with Gympie ‘snowballing’ their 2025 return, Stanley River attracting key BRL talent while Kawana and Nambour tick over nicely. See every new recruit and coaching change so far.
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The Sunshine Coast rugby league off-season is in full swing with a handful of A-grade clubs already bringing in new talent.
Just a few months on from one of the competitions greatest ever grand final showdowns, clubs are already naming their fresh face recruits for the 2025 season.
Stay up to date with every move from around the grounds in our pre-season tracker below.
Devils eager for 2025 top-flight return
After missing two straight seasons in the SCGRL A-grade competition, the Devils have started their assault to re-join the top grade in 2025.
With Darren Burns and Michael Buckley being announced as co-coaches, Gympie plan to enter an A-grade, reserve grade, open women’s and under-19s side for next season.
“We’re very confident that we’ll be able to fill all of the specific criteria needed,” Buckley said.
“We had our first session last week and while we still had a few guys away we had great numbers and the coaching staff was extremely happy.”
Buckley said whilst the A-grade side first fell by the wayside in 2023, the loss of talent first began during the staggered Covid-19 seasons.
“We had really great numbers in our seniors and then Covid-19 hit which cancelled the 2020 season meaning a lot of players didn’t return that following year,” he said.
“Once we got back on the paddock we went through a period where we copped a lot of injuries meaning our performances weren’t up to scratch.
“A fair few players were Gympie juniors and still playing for the club but now living on the Sunshine Coast so they got picked up by other clubs which you can’t blame them for.”
He said the snowball effect since the initial coaching announcement had been amazing.
“A few months ago I had some players come to me expressing their want to come back to the club and since we’ve got the ball rolling it’s been pretty overwhelming seeing everyone come out of the woodwork,” Buckley said.
“There’s guys that’ll be at our club next season that haven’t played since Covid-1, some guys that have been playing at other clubs and some that have stuck around through reserve grade.
“What makes me really proud is that we haven’t chased anyone, they’ve all come to us because of friendship or a connection to the club which is absolutely great.”
The Devils announced signings so far have included Locky Price, Bailey Parr, Joe Curran, Jake Harney, Matt and Hayden Moessinger, Mitch Heaton, Jake Leitch and Stephen Buckley.
Wolves add major depth to A-grade roster
Stanley River have continued to attract fresh faced competition talent with a host of Brisbane Rugby League players joining the club for the 2025 season.
New co-coach Daniel Green, who guided Wests Panthers to the A-grade final in 2024 and was later named the competition’s coach of the year, is already proving to be a key asset for the Wolves with a number of players following his path.
Green is coming off his most enjoyable coaching season at Wests but made the decision to step away from the job for 2025.
“I had a great time at Wests but I had to scale back my coaching due to my work commitments so I informed them I wouldn’t be coaching them for 2025,” he said.
“I coached Taylor Brown at Redcliffe for a few years and became good mates with him outside of footy so I touched base with him seeing if Stanley Rivers might need a hand in an assistant role.”
Green said he quickly aligned with what head coach Ethan Szendrey is trying to implement at the club and the pair began their recruitment drive.
“Ethan and I caught up over a few beers and I liked his vision, said I was keen to help recruit a few players and get the club going in the direction they want to get it to.”
BRL A-grade 2024 player of the year Cameron Cullen will headline a host of West Brisbane Panthers players making the move to the SCGRL with clubmates Errol Simpson, Hudson Jones and Jacob Tobok all making the move north.
Cullen played 10 matches of NRL in 2016 and 2017 before representing the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Hostplus Cup from 2018 to 2023.
“The main drive has been to recruit good people first that are good players second and there’s still a few we haven’t announced just yet,” he said.
“It was massive to get Cam on board, he’ll be great for the competition and there’s a handful more from West Brisbane like Erol Simpson who is a great attacking centre, someone I’d argue will score the most tries in the competition next year.
“I’m a huge fan of Hudson Jones, he plays tough, is super competitive and is a chicken farmer from up that way anyway so it’s a lot closer for him.
“Jacob Tobok is a handy player that can slot in at a number of positions, Gareth Friedrich is a good local junior and then some other guys I’ve coached that are already at the club which is great.”
Outgoing Brighton Roosters A-grade captain Logan Cox is also a new signing for the Wolves.
“Before Brighton I played for Redcliffe under Greeny (Daniel Green) who I thought was a great guy and I learned so much from him,” Cox said.
“Since he was announced as co-coach we got chatting and I just thought I would enjoy a change of scenery by giving the Sunshine Coast competition a crack.
“I’m excited for what’s to come and what we can achieve.”
The club’s newest re-signings include Adam Otter, Scott Maddick, Jamie Newton, Jaye Allery, James Cochran, Sam Leach and Josh Lister.
Kawana keeping their cards close to their chest
Dolphins head coach Chris Corbett is back at the helm for his second straight season and is excited for what his ever-building squad can produce.
Corbett, who took over from Andrew Hinson last season, would be joined in the Kawana coaching ranks by Jarred Lawrence (club coach), Akeau Potoru and Peter Wright (open women), Joel Fitzgerald (reserve grade), Jamie Manwarring (under-19s) and Justin Peade (strength and conditioning) in 2025.
Corbett said despite a tough season with results he was proud of his playing group’s fresh mentality.
“It was disappointing last season in terms of our senior men’s standards but we’re ready to redeem ourselves this year,” he said.
“We’ve had some really good healthy numbers in pre-season so far, especially compared to last year, with most of our players returning, a fair few coming back to the club that have had a few years off and then some new exciting recruits as well.
“We’ve got a good influx of under-19s too which is great, obviously a fair few of them were thrown into the deep end during our injury massive toll last season but they gained plenty of experience and are ready to go again.”
Corbett said he was eager for the coming months.
“There’s a great atmosphere at the club at the moment with plenty of great work being done behind the scenes and everything’s looking really positive,” he said.
“When I think about this time last year I was a bit concerned with numbers and all the rest of it but to have our coaches all locked away nice and early is great and there’s a real excitement at the club.”
Crushers ramp up 2025 preparations
The Nambour Crushers have begun their 2025 on-field preparations nice and early after a tough outing last season.
Head coach Marty Cordwell is back at the helm for his second season in charge and said he was pleased with how things were tracking.
“We started pre-season early, obviously finishing lower on the ladder we needed to get some work done and create a culture around the club on how we want to play next season,” he said.
Cordwell said the club had been hard at work on re-signing and attracting new players.
“We didn’t have an under-19s last season which is always going to hurt but we’ve had some great numbers already and we want to keep that going because those players are the future of our club,” he said.
“The first key drive was to retain as many players as possible which has been great and to now continue looking for new recruits that can add to our squad.
“One of our new signings is Tyson Law who has moved up from Sydney, he’s an impressive middle that will push for an A-grade spot.
“Another player that’s come to Nambour and is a bit of a prospect is Noah Law.
“He’ll play in the Mal Meninga competition and is someone that I think will be a star in rugby league if he can keep his feet on the ground and put in the work.”
Crushers re-signings so far have included star trio Carter Wedd, Jack Beetson and Finn Lawson.
Cordwell also added that he wasn’t announcing his retirement just yet but was unsure how many games he would play in 2025.
Philp eyeing return as Colts lockdown key coach
Coolum Colts head coach Matt Smith will continue to take charge in 2025 after a standout 2024 season.
The Colts made their A-grade competition debut in 2023 before lifting to a new level in 2024, finishing as minor premiers before having their heart broken with a 20-16 grand final loss to Beerwah.
Inspirational skipper Luke Philp is also hoping to make a return to the field as he continues to recover from a brutal ankle injury he picked up in round three last season.
Philp suffered a dislocated ankle, breaking his tibia and fibula.
The 26-year-old then underwent surgery and was off work for five months before undergoing rehabilitation.
“It’s been a bit of a journey to be honest,” he said.
“I was sitting on the couch, getting fat and losing my mind after it happened but it was a big step to return to work as a roofer and then start rehab.
“I was hoping to be back by now and fully fit but I think I’m kidding myself and that’s what a lot of people and doctors have told me due to the extent of the injury.”
Philp said he was keeping a positive outlook on the 2025 season.
“It’s been little steps and a few setbacks with rehab but I’m doing everything I can to get back onto the field next season,” he said.
“I’ll most likely miss the start of the season but hopefully I can play a fair chunk if my ankle lets me.
“It was really tough to watch from the sidelines all year, especially in the final but we learnt a lot of lessons as a team and hopefully we can go one better next season.”
Key players Dan Moevao, Marlon Hawkins and Jaeden Usher have already been announced as re-signings for 2025.
Reserve grade standouts join the Kennel
The defending premiers have been quick to add a number of new faces and re-signings to their 2025 team list with the imminent arrival of Bribie Island stars Troy and Anthony Evans.
Troy, 25 and Anthony, 23, have been playing reserve grade footy together at Bribie for the past five seasons.
“Troy and I have both grown up playing representative footy but we went back to Bribie originally because we had a fair few mates playing there and because of the two year age gap we had never had the chance to play together,” Anthony said.
The brothers were a part of Bribie’s premiership winning team in 2023 but were now hoping to challenge themselves at the next level.
“We were listening to the PRESZN podcast each week and once the season finished a fair few Beerwah guys reached out to us which we took on board,” Anthony said.
“Beerwah are already at the top of the competition so the main takeaway we both had is they reached out to us which makes us feel pretty good.
“The aim now is to get an A-grade premiership together which would be pretty special.”
The club’s other key signing has been Alex Crust, who will come across from Caboolture but did previously play for the Doggies back in 2018.
Returning Beerwah players also include captain Mathew Kidd, Damian Forde-Hurrell, Sam Humphreys, Kaleb Coolwell, Tom McClure, Lachie McClure, Sam Fullerton, Tom Dwan, Kale Sheraton, Jai Milosavlievic and Dylan Kerr.
Swans cement premiership half as new captain
The Swans have announced their replacement skipper for 2025 in former premiership winning halfback John McLaughlin.
The 24-year-old last played for the men in green in 2023 before taking a year off while travelling and working in Western Australia.
While in the West McLaughlin played for the Rockingham Sharks, under and alongside incoming Noosa Pirates player-coach Tom Murphy.
“I got injured during the season so I was just eager to come home and obviously really pumped to be back with the Swans,” he said.
McLaughlin will take over the captaincy from retiring skipper Tom Geraghty and said he was excited for the possibilities under new head coach Mick Duff.
“I was watching the competition from afar last season and they did pretty well with a good young side so I’m pretty keen to rip in,” he said.
“I haven’t had too much to deal with Mick (Duff) just yet but the conversations have been good and there’s a few other good signings that have already been announced.”
Other re-signings include Zac Andrews, Cody Rowe, Joe Meikle, Jack Baumgart, Jayden Marshall and Harry Dreger.
Familiar face excited for ‘fresh start’
The Maroochydore Swans have snapped up outgoing Noosa Pirates head coach Mick Duff in what is an exciting step forward for the club.
It was announced last month that the Pirates had signed former Falcons captain Tom Murphy as a player-coach for the 2025 season.
Duff spent two seasons with the Pirates which resulted in a third place finish in 2023 and second in 2024, missing out on a spot in the grand final by just two points.
The 42-year-old will replace previous head coach Bart Hold who has been at the helm for Maroochydore for the past two seasons.
“Noosa decided to go with Tom (Murphy) which is fantastic and a good fit for them but after that was announced Maroochydore reached out to me and I then applied for the job,” he said.
“Maroochydore fit what I want to do really well and obviously they were happy with what I presented so it will be a fresh start but I’m really looking forward to it.”
Under Hold, the Swans recorded two straight fourth place finishes.
“I think Bart (Hold) has done a fantastic job with the team so I just hope to build and add some value to what he’s done,” Duff said.
“It will be nice to coach a new group of players, they’ve got some really exciting young guys and obviously a number of players that have been and still are associated with the Falcons.
“It will be great to see how we can develop them over the next year or two and hopefully push for a premiership.”
With Swans captain Tom Geraghty announcing his retirement, star 2024 players Oscar Crawley and Mike Filiga have already been announced as re-signings while a crop of Noosa players are also rumoured to follow Duff to Maroochydore.
Former Falcons hooker Jai Smoothy, brother of Brisbane Broncos player Tyson, will also join the side for 2025.
“It’s great that a lot of the guys from last season have already signed on, Jai has come back over from the UK so he’s the first major signing from outside of the club,” Duff said.
“Tom (Geraghty) will be a big loss that’s for sure, Saxon Day looks like he’ll be playing under-20s for the Warriors and Kea Stevenson has an opportunity with the Wests Tigers.
“It’s really great to see these young players be granted these development opportunities with elite NRL clubs and hopefully there’s many more to come.”
Pirates secure services of former Falcons captain
The Noosa Pirates have been one of the first teams to strike with rugby league journeyman Tom Murphy being announced as their new head coach for 2025.
Murphy will replace previous head coach Mick Duff who was previously expected to transition into another coaching role within the club.
Murphy, a Maroochydore junior, entered the Canberra Raiders youth academy after graduating high school before relocating to play Queensland Cup with the Redcliffe Dolphins and Sunshine Coast Falcons.
Murphy played 34 matches for the Falcons between 2014 and 2016, captaining the side and winning the James Ackerman medal in 2015, before playing a season overseas in France and then transitioning to the Mackay Cutters for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
By 2019 Murphy had returned to the Sunshine Coast where he and a number of former Falcons players pulled on the jersey for the Stanley River Wolves A-grade side who completed a fairytale premiership winning season.
Murphy was also awarded man of the match in the Wolves 28-16 grand final victory over the Caboolture Snakes.
The crafty edge backrower then darted to the Northern Territory in 2021 to take on a player-coach role with Darwin-based Palmerston Raiders and more recently the Rockingham Sharks in Western Australia from 2022.
Murphy said he was extremely excited to re-join the Sunshine Coast A-grade competition.
“I’ll definitely be coaching and hopefully playing too if I’m good enough,” the 33-year-old said.
“I always had intent to come back and play or coach on the Sunshine Coast and had a great connection at Noosa who I’ve stayed in touch with over the years.”
Murphy said with no state under-21s representative competition anymore he was looking forward to helping develop the club’s younger players.
“I haven't met any of the boys yet so my first priority is to get a good feel for the place but I’m really excited to be coming to an established club,” he said.
“I think Noosa have been building for a couple of years now and from an outsider looking in, the club has stepped up professionally in all the key areas.
“They started the 2023 season well before unfortunately falling away towards the end but the expectations are high, the drive is to be playing at the business end of the season and pushing for a premiership.
“It sounds like it’s a much more young and skilful A-grade competition now too so that’s another element I’m looking forward to.”
‘SuperCoach’ steps aside with Bulldogs successor named
Beerwah Bulldogs back-to-back premiership winning A-grade head coach Brett ‘Darcy’ Hill has stepped into a new senior coaching co-ordinator role for the 2025 season.
The club announced earlier this month that current assistant coach Greg Corkin will take over the reigns for next season.
“I’m getting a little bit older so it was getting a bit tougher and I just decided to let some younger guys in,” Hill said.
“I had a great time coaching, I’m still hanging around in a sense to help out where I can but it’s a step back for me.
“Greg is pretty much ingrained in the club, he’s been around forever and it should be a smooth transition.
“Everyone loves him and I’ve got no doubt he’ll do a great job.”
Corkin, 47, has had both his sons play for Beerwah while his daughter is in the under-15s girls division currently.
Corkin has been involved in the A-grade coaching staff since 2020, serving as the official assistant coach for the past two seasons.
“I’m really excited for next season, obviously winning two straight competitions mean I just want to keep on building,” he said.
“We have so many players returning again next year which is a key point that stands out for me.
“I think that and the ongoing development of our junior players that got their first taste of A-grade last season, it’ll be a highlight to watch them come through and continue their trajectory.”
Corkin has gotten straight to work too with the club re-signing Bulldogs enforcer Rowan Jardine for 2025.
New Snakes coach eager for next chapter
Experienced campaigner Ray Ballantyne has been announced as the Caboolture Snakes 2025 A-grade coach, replacing outgoing head coach Jamie Floss.
Ballantyne brings with him an extensive coaching resume having worked as a development officer, manager and coach for the Canberra Raiders, ACT Schoolboys and Sunshine Coast Falcons.
Ballantyne made the transition from Beerwah to Caboolture midway through last season, where he served as an assistant to his son’s premiership winning under-19s team.
“My youngest son is at Beerwah but my eldest played under-19s at Caboolture last season so that’s how I got involved and got a better idea of the club,” he said.
“I was aware the opportunity of A-grade head coach was coming up at Caboolture and I was really interested.
“Not that the club is in a bad way but they’ve got a great desire to improve on and off the field and I view it as a great challenge to show my skills and get the playing group to where they need to be.”
The 48-year-old, who has been coaching for more than 20 years, said he was excited for the coming months.
“They’ve got a great crop of young players coming through the ranks, we’re not expecting anything major but it will be great to get the groundwork in and set ourselves up for years to come,” Ballantyne said.
“Through the conversations I’ve had with players, although they’ve been competitive and even come close to silverware in recent years, there’s still so much hunger from the playing group.
“They all play for each other, they’re a great bunch of guys and the committee is really enthusiastic which is exciting.”
Josh Totoro is set to play his 10th A-grade season for the Snakes in 2025, alongside re-signings Chris Totoro, Tyler McGoldrick and Troy Ennion.
Sharks snap up coach of the year
Recently announced SCGRL coach of the year Craig Cleary has also been confirmed to return as A-grade head coach of the Caloundra Sharks in 2025.
“It was very unexpected but very special to be recognised for the work that goes in away from the field and away from training,” Cleary said.
“My wife is probably the only one that truly sees that work behind the scenes but it was a great club effort this year.”
Cleary will be joined by Falcons stalwart Dane Hogan and Todd Maguire as assistant coaches.
“Toddy was the reserve grade assistant coach last season but is really good with his film work and back-end stuff that needs to be done so I’m glad to have him on board,” Cleary said.
“I’m just trying to get a team together that can all chip in when required and help share the workload.”
A handful of ex-Sharks players have also put their hand up to help out including Hayden Elsbach who has endured back-to-back ACL surgeries.
“Hayden Elsbach couldn’t commit to a role due to his work restraints but he really wants to be around when he can and will do a lot of work with our hookers in the senior grades,” Cleary said.
“We’ll have some other guys helping our kickers and so on which will be good.”
Wolves keep off-season signings ticking over
After making their A-grade return in 2024 the Stanley River Wolves have renamed Ethan Szendrey as their head coach for the upcoming season and will be joined by a number of returning faces.
Star forward Ben King, outside back Daemon Cruise and damaging prop Josh Lister have all re-signed for 2025 while Wolves junior Gareth Friedrich has returned to the club.
Friedrich, a talented lock forward, was a part of the Rivers premiership winning team in 2019 before a pre-season camp with the Redcliffe Dolphins followed by a successful stint with Valleys in the BRL in 2020.
He then returned to Stanley River in 2021, played for the Caboolture Snakes in 2022, Valleys in 2023 and West Brisbane Panthers in 2024.
“We’re always happy to get our local juniors back at the club,” Szendrey said.
“I'm really keen to see him out on the field as I know he’ll be a great asset for us and will strengthen our middle.”
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