Sunshine Coast Falcons announce Brad Henderson as their new Intrust Super Cup coach

A born and bred Sunshine Coast coach is hoping to use his wealth of knowledge at the highest levels of the game to lift the Falcons back into premiership contention. Here’s how.

New Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson says he’s “pumped” and “proud” to take on the head coaching role of his hometowns’s top club and is looking forward to working with all levels of the local game.

Henderson, a former Maroochydore Swans junior and former assistant coach at the NRL’s Canterbury Bulldogs, was announced as the Intrust Super Cup team’s new leader on Thursday.

He’ll take over from Sam Mawhinney who guided the club through a tough two years during the pandemic.

Henderson was an assistant coach at the Falcons this season after returning to the Sunshine Coast when Trent Barrett was appointed to the head coaching role of the Canterbury Bulldogs late last year.

“It’s really exciting to have the top job now (at Falcons) and I’m pretty pumped to get started,” Henderson said.

“I’ve sort of thought about it in the past when opportunities have come up at the club but my timing has always been quite poor so this is probably the first time where I’ve been in a position that I was in the right place at the right time for this role.

“It’s really special and it means a lot to me.

“I’m a super proud Sunny Coaster and super proud of the club.”

BRAD HENDERSON TO COACH THE FALCONS ‼️The Vantage Homes Falcons would like to announce that Brad Henderson has been...

Posted by SC Falcons on Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Falcons chief executive Chris Flannery welcomed Henderson into the role and looked forward to seeing what his time in the NRL could add.

“Brad has an outstanding coaching resume and has coached alongside NRL head coaches Des Hasler, Dean Pay and Steve Georgallis during his time at the Canterbury Bulldogs,” Flannery said.

“Being a Sunshine Coast local – Brad has extensive knowledge of our local clubs and has also had a long history with the Falcons Football Club having previously coached here in our lower grades before he moved to Sydney to coach at the Bulldogs. “

Henderson had plenty of plans for the coming 2022 state season.

“You tend to pick a lot up from other coaches that you work with in the past and then you find your own way of using it,” he said.

“I tend to try and move with the times and the game is ever changing, albeit due to the rules, so I’m going to try and play the brand of football that’s going to make us a success.

“One of my big focuses is certainly going to be on development, not just for what we do at Queensland Cup level, but all the way down to our junior reps and branching it into our local clubs as well.”

Mawhinney, 2020-21 coach, has decided to move to back to a full-time school teaching role.

“The Falcons would like to thank Sam for his efforts over the past two years and we wish him all the very best,” Flannery said.