The coaches leading Wynnum’s top athletes revealed
Premierships, championships, producing Olympians and more, Wynnum has a star-studded field of sports coaches as we name the best coaches. SEE THE LIST
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Premiership and championship winners, mentors to Olympians, athletes who have done it all then turned into mentors or people who have turned the tide for their chosen sport – our list of Wynnum’s best coaches has it all.
Brisbane’s bayside has always had a rich sporting history and has produced some of Australia’s best ever athletes.
But who are the coaches behind the area’s impressive current sporting scene?
See the list below.
RYAN MOQUE – WYNNUM GOLF CLUB
Ryan Mouque is one of the PGA teaching professionals at Wynnum Golf Club and has been coaching for six years.
Moque has run the junior program at the club ever since starting as a coach as well as helping regular golfers and several tour players achieve their goals.
He was named the Queensland Game Development Coach of the Year for both 2020 and 2021.
Wynnum Golf Club’s head professional, Matthew King, said Moque was backed by countless hours of training in the latest golf coaching and development.
“Ryan is passionate about helping golfers of all skill levels reach their true potential through long term improvement programs,” he said.
ADAM BRIDESON – RUGBY LEAGUE (WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS)
Since taking over at the Wynnum Manly Seagulls, Adam Brideson has led the historic club back to where it belongs – the top of the Intrust Super Cup.
The former Seagulls and Canterbury Bankstown forward experienced a tough first few years at the helm, before steering the ship in the right direction as Wynnum Manly made the 2019 Intrust Super Cup grand final, ultimately falling short against the Burleigh Bears.
But the Seagulls are still one of the heavyweights in the second-tier competition, sitting second going into the ISC finals following another strong season.
BRUCE CRUICKSHANK – AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL (WYNNUM VIKINGS AFL)
Bruce Cruickshank has been one of the star coaches in the junior ranks at the Wynnum Vikings and has helped produce some of the club’s biggest talents.
Cruickshank coached two juniors in particular, who went onto big things, having played a role in the rise of now Brisbane Lions AFL star Keidean Coleman – now a mainstay in one of the best teams in the competition.
He also coached AFLW star Tarni White, who was a superstar at the junior level and is now playing under the bright lights with the St Kilda Football Club.
BRENDAN MORONEY – AUSSIE RULES (WYNNUM VIKINGS AFL)
Still coaching at the club, Brendan Moroney will go down as one of the best senior coaches in Wynnum Vikings history.
Moroney was in charge at arguably the club’s most successful era, winning back-to-back premierships in 2008/09.
TOM PAYNE – SOCCER (WYNNUM WOLVES FC)
Helping turn the Wynnum Wolves FC’s youngsters into the next generation of Wolves soccer stars, Tom Payne has been identified as one of the club’s up and coming coaches.
Leading the Wolves Under-11s team as well as being the co-ordinator of the club’s Skills Acquisition Program, Payne is helping local young soccer stars dream of bigger and better things in the future by starting their pathway in the sport.
HARSHA DE SILVA – WYNNUM CRICKET CLUB
Coaching at the international level, mentoring some of the world’s top crickets, playing in elite competition and now overseeing one of Queensland’s top clubs.
The current Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club director of cricket, Harsha De Silva, has done it all.
Known for his gentle nature, De Silva has been a great asset to bayside cricket, assuming several roles in recent years, including first grade coach and now director of cricket.
De Silva would be one of the most highly credentialed coaches in Queensland, having coached at four World Cups during his career.
He had a successful first-class playing career in Sri Lanka, before two tenures as the country’s international women’s coach.
He also had a major influence of some of Sri Lanka’s top cricketers including names such as Angela Mathews, Thisara Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne.
CIARA METCALF – WYNNUM CRICKET CLUB
She’s represented her country at the highest level but Ciara Metcalfe’s biggest achievement could be what she has done with the Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club’s women’s program.
The former Irish international player, who made one Test match appearance as well as 53 one day internationals and 25 Twenty20 games during her 19-year playing career, is entering her fourth season in charge of the Sea Eagles women’s team.
During that time, Metcalfe has grown the club’s female numbers from almost nothing to one of the largest membership bases in Queensland and also undertook the near impossible task of resurrecting a joint first grade women’s side along with Redlands Tigers.
“It’s no secret that Ciara has made a name for herself as one of the best coaches in the Queensland Premier Grade Competitions,” Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club president, Graham Mapri, said.
“We feel extremely privileged to again have the ex-Irish International cricketer at the head of our female program across both ever expanding seniors and juniors.”
BEN THOMPSON – ATHLETICS (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Helping lead the Moreton Bay Colleges athletics program, Ben Thompson is one of the top javelin and discus coaches in the country.
Thompson is a National Youth Event Coach and National Junior Coach, mentoring the coaches of Australia’s leading junior and potential athletes in the area of Javelin.
He is also the coach of Olympian Matt Denny, who finished fourth at the recent Tokyo Olympic Games.
MATT DENNY – ATHLETICS (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
While Matt Denny is reaching his career goals of competing at the world’s biggest sporting event, he is also inspiring the next generation of athletes as a coach in the athletics program at the Moreton Bay Colleges.
Denny, whose coaches alongside his own mentor in Ben Thompson, most recently finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and hopes to help produce more Olympians from the bayside schools.
He also won a silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
WAYNE LEAVER – ATHLETICS (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
One of the most qualified coaches you’ll ever see, Wayne Leaver is another part of the Moreton Bay Colleges’ impressive athletics coaching staff.
As a level four specialist coach in sprints, hurdles, relays and young athletes, Leaver has had an incredible amount of athletes go on to represent Queensland and Australia at the senior and junior level.
He is a full-time coach working in a high performance environment, is the current Queensland state sprints and hurdles coach and has held numerous other roles in the state programs.
BEN NORTON – ATHLETICS (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Another athletics coach with an impressive and long resume, Ben Norton is also a level four specialist coach for sprints, hurdles and relays.
Norton is also a QAS network coach, Queensland’s middle distance and cross country coach and was the lead Australian coach for middle distance at the Youth Olympics in 2018.
He has been a coach on the Australian Oceania teams four times and has coached numerous athletes, who have gone onto international competition at the junior and senior level.
ANDREW LLUHAM – ATHLETICS (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Andrew Lluham is another big name in the coaching ranks in the athletics program at the Moreton Bay Colleges.
Another level four specialist coach but this time in jumps, he is the Queensland Academy of Sport jumps coach and is also the state and national jumps coach.
MIELA GOODCHILD – BASKETBALL (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
A big part of Miela Goodchild’s journey to becoming one of Australia’s top young basketball prospects was her time at MBC and now she is returning to inspire the next generation.
Goodchild spent all of her schooling at MBC and recorded an incredible amount of achievements during her junior career, representing Australia, Queensland and winning multiple state championships at the representative level.
She has since gone on to have a successful career at US college heavyweights, Duke University.
However, when she has time off Goodchild has returned to MBC to coach the up and coming youngsters at MBC.
ANITA PECKHAM – BASKETBALL (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Now leading the Moreton Bay College open girls’ team, Anita Peckham is a coach on the rise in the Basketball Queensland ranks.
Currently coaching MBC at the CBSQ tournament, where the team is undefeated so far, Peckham has also recorded several impressive achievements at other levels.
She has won a silver medal at National Championships as an assistant coach, won a bronze medal as a head coach at the state championships with the Logan Thunder and also a QSL2 senior championship also as an assistant with the Thunder.
Peckham is now leading some stars of the future in MBC’s basketball program.
ANGIE LAMBERT – HOCKEY (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
One of the most decorated players in Australian hockey history is also a Moreton Bay College coach.
Angie Lambert is a three-time Olympian, including having won gold at Sydney in 2000, the retired star has also competed at two Commonwealth Games, winning bronze in 2002 and gold in 2006.
She also competed at two World Cups (2002/06) and won a silver medal in 2006.
Lambert has done it all, playing her first international game at just 17 and being named Named FIH International Young Player of the Year in 2001.
AMANDA SCHAEFFE – NETBALL (Moreton Bay College)
One of the most successful coaches in Queensland netball, Amanda Schaeffe also coaches the powerhouse Moreton Bay College team, alongside Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson.
Schaeffe has done it all in the sport in Queensland, winning a bunch of titles with the Carina Leagues Club Tigers as well as coaching both Australian and Queensland state representative teams in the junior and school ranks.
The MBC team has gone on to win championships at the state level.
VICKI WILSON – NETBALL (Moreton Bay College)
Forming arguably the best coaching combination in school sport in Queensland, Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson coaches alongside Amanda Schaeffe to lead the powerhouse MBC program.
Wilson, who played for the Diamonds, has been an assistant coach for New Zealand, led the Firebirds from 2006-2009 and has been a part of many other national and state programs, helping nurture the country’s next generation of netball stars.
DIAN JOHANNESSON – SOFTBALL (Moreton Bay College)
She is the current Queensland opens softball coach but Dian Johannesson also leads the Moreton Bay College softball program.
Johannesson has also coached the Australian Indigenous team.
DORINDA STONE – SOFTBALL (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Another one of MBC’s old girls who have returned to help inspire and nurture the next generation of athletes is Dorinda Stone.
Stone had an impressive junior and senior career already, despite being so young, having represented both Queensland and Australia at the representative and school levels.
DAVID LUSH – SWIMMING (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
The director of swimming at the Moreton Bay Colleges, they don’t come much better as far as coaches than David Lush.
Lush is a current Australian Olympic swim team coach, has coached Australia at World Championships and Commonwealth Games and olds a platinum swimming license, something only 36 coaches has ever done.
He was named the Australian coach of the year in 2017, is a world record coach and has mentored multiple Olympic, World Champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallists.
SWAIN ROVELLI – TOUCH FOOTBALL (Moreton Bay College, Moreton Bay Boys’ College)
Again, a current national team coach, who is leading their respective sport at Moreton Bay College.
Swain Rovelli is the current Australian women’s team coach and is developing the school’s program to hep create a pathway to the highest level.
GINA PELUSO – RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS (Moreton Bay College)
It’s not often you have an Olympic coach leading your school program but that’s exactly the case for Moreton Bay College in rhythmic gymnastics.
Gina Peluso, who is an award-winning mentor, was the rhythmic gymnastics coach for Australia at the recent Tokyo games.
Throughout her years though, Peluso has helped produce some of Australia’s best gymnasts and lead MBC’s gymnastics program to become one of the best in the state, if not the country.
LEIGH HARDING – AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL (IONA COLLEGE)
He’s played 141 games in the AFL with the North Melbourne Kangaroos, been involved in the coaching staff at the Brisbane Lions but now Leigh Harding helps form one of the top coaching groups in school sport at Iona College.
The former star forward, who has also coached Redlands in the NEAFL, is one of the big names leading their respective sport at Iona as the school continues to build their program, especially after the construction of an MCG-style Aussie rules field.
TOUTAI KEFU – RUGBY UNION (IONA COLLEGE)
Helping to continue to take the powerhouse Iona College rugby union program forward is one of the most well-known names in Australian rugby, Toutai Kefu.
Having had a long and successful career with the Wallabies and Queensland Reds, Kefu has been a part of the strong Iona program for several years now as they continue to be heavyweights in the AIC competition.
Kefu has also recently recovered after being injured in an alleged home invasion.
CHRIS MCKENNA – RUGBY LEAGUE (IONA COLLEGE)
Arguably the fastest rising sport at Iona College, the school’s rugby league program is one on the rise and one of the main reasons is their coach, Chris McKenna.
The bayside rugby league legend has taken the previously non-existent program at Iona to one showing signs of promise.
McKenna has an impressive behind him, having played more than 300 professional games for teams including the Cronulla Sharks and the Brisbane Broncos, as well as having represented both Queensland and Australia, the rugby league talents at Iona College have nobody better to look up to.
KEVIN O’BRIEN – WATER POLO (IONA COLLEGE)
Capping off Iona Colleges star coaching group is Kevin O’Brien, who leads the school’s water polo program.
Helping inspire the school’s young athletes to represent their country on the big stage, O’Brien knows what it takes having represented South Africa at World Championships.
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