The Noosa Tigers have signed new head coach Chris Rourke

New Noosa Tigers coach and VFL veteran Chris Rourke reveals secret weapons to turn club’s fortune around.

The Noosa Tigers have wasted no time in turning their QAFL dream around after announcing a number of player signings along with Ainslie eight-time premiership winning NEAFL coach Chris Rourke.

Rourke, a former Fitzroy U19 and VFA senior player, has taken over the role of head coach from outgoing club legend Adam Bovalino.

With more than 30 years of coaching experience in Victoria, ACT, New South Wales and now Queensland, Rourke said the opportunity was too hard to knock back.

“I’m very excited and, like anything that is new or being rebuilt, it’s going to take a lot of hard work,” he said.

“The QAFL has a number of top players and is one of the leagues that is really improving so that challenge to see how we can compete against those better teams is really exciting.”

The club announced the services of Myles Poholke, Connor McDonald, Harry Maher, Tom Templeton, Jai Fitzpatrick and Jono Freeman for the 2022 season.

Rourke said the competition was competitive but he was pleased with the recent signings.

“We’ve picked up some good signings and held onto those players we wanted so the club is absolutely buzzing along at the moment,” he said.

“We want to recruit the right people and we think the players we’ve brought in so far are not only good footballers but good citizens for the town of Noosa as well.”

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The Tigers finished bottom of the table in their first season in the QAFL after taking out the QFA Division 1 premiership and gaining promotion in 2020.

Several injuries hit the Noosa Tigers senior team last year.

But Rourke said he was excited to see what this season had in store.

“The club has been great and we’ve worked really hard to get the off-field things right with our new committee and coaching staff,” he said.

“Everyone seems really switched on so I think the steps we’ve put in place are going to make us a lot stronger for the seasons to come.

“We know we’re not going to have instant success but we certainly want to be far more competitive than last year and if there’s one thing for sure it’s that I certainly don’t coach teams to lose.”

New Noosa Tigers head coach Chris Rourke comes to the club with more than 30 years of coaching experience in Victoria, ACT and New South Wales. Picture: Patrick Woods

Rourke said he was eager to find out the competitive nature of the QAFL competition.

“I think anyone that is wanting to play good footy should be looking at playing in the QAFL which has plenty of good players and is one of the only competitions that is really improving,” he said.

“I look forward to our players playing a good brand of footy and hopefully the people of Noosa can get around and support us.”