10 SEQ super coaches – and 30 of their gun rookies

Two local footy coaches have chalked up unbelievable grand final records, as we uncover 10 South East Queensland grassroots super coaches across multiple codes – and 30 of the best rookies who are on the rise.

Here are 10 Queensland super coaches delivering the goods at grassroots level.

We feature world class coaches from Australian football, swimming, rugby league, union, hockey and water polo.

One of our coaches profiled, rugby’s Mick Heenan, has a grand final record that must surely be the best in first class sport in the country.

We also feature 30 of the coaches best rookies on the rise in 2022.

Broadbeach Cats senior coach Craig O'Brien at training. Picture: Glenn Hampson

CRAIG O’BRIEN (AFC, Broadbeach AFC)

After a series of near misses, premiership success never tasted so good for Cats’ supporters after Craig O’Brien’s masterful coaching performances in 2021.

Ryan Pickering taking a mark for the Cats. Picture by Richard Gosling

O’Brien and his players delivered the club a historic first ever QAFL title - all this after circling the premiership cup in 2020 and 2018 as grand finalists, and in 2017 as preliminary finalists.

Around elite full forward Jordan Moncrieff , O’Brien pulled together a winning system and a squad made up of players near and far, moulding them into a unit that was never going to lose on grand final day.

Six of O’Brien’s best

Jared Eckersley: He won the colts best and fairest in 2021

Brayden Taylor: Renowned for selfless play, he made his QAFL debut in round 7 and never looked back.

Ryan Pickering: Pickering had a huge finals’ series in the ruck, including when it counted most - on grand final day against a quality, experienced rivals.

Cody Harrington: Harrington was a consistent goal scorer for the Cats.

Broadbeach Cats players Brandon Chadwick (left), Brayden Taylor, Michael Selsby, Harrison Arnold, Sam Jasper and Tyrone Armitage celebrate their QAFL Seniors grand final. Photo: Deion Menzies

Jake Rogers: Roers was the colts best and fairest runner up (joint)

Dan Le Quesne: He joined Rogers in the colts best and fairest race, finishing joint runner up.

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Broadbeach QAFL coach Craig O'Brien. Picture: Supplied.

DEAN BOXALL (St Peters Western Swim Club)

The Olympic swimming coach is famous for overseeing Ariarne Titmus’ extraordinary 400m freestyle gold medal swim at the Olympic Games last year - and for his outpouring of emotion following the win.

With his famous mop of hair, Dean Boxall was one of the sensations of the Olympic Games. Picture Julianne Osborne

But before he became an overnight world wide sensation at the Games, Boxall was moulding a brilliant crop of swimmers, building them into Australian senior, junior or World University representatives. Behind Tokyo Olympians Titmus, Larkin, Meg Harris, Abby Harkin and Mollie O’Callaghan and co, Boxall and his team has yet another exciting crop of potential national swimmers.

Gun schoolgirl swimmer Ella RamsaPicture, John Gass

Boxall’s terrific rookie trio

Mollie O’Callaghan: The St Peters Lutheran College schoolgirl finished with three Olympic medals after her heat swim performances. Watch for her to push for individual podium finishes at the Commonwealth Games.

Kai Taylor: The son of Olympian Hayley Lewis, freestyle sprinter Kai Taylor is a white hot talent. We could name a dozen elite rookies, but we will stick with Taylor, O’Callaghan and Ella Ramsay (see below).

Ella Ramsay: Ramsay is arguably the most successful age group swimmer in Australia over the last four years. The year 12 student is an outside chance of making the Commonwealth Games team, but she has time on her hands and Paris 2024 is a bigger fish to fry.

University celebrates their win, University vs GPSPicture: Liam Kidston.

MICK HEENAN (UQ rugby union)

Is this the most successful football coach - of any code - in the country? He is the brother of Wallaby Daniel Heenan, but Mick Heenan is probably more revered in Queensland rugby.

Mick Heenan - white shirt - celebrates last season premiership. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The understated Heenan does not seek the limelight but his rugby union coaching record screams success. Heenan, the University of Queensland head coach, has won seven premierships as a head coach from 10 grand final appearances since his career started. He has taken the Red Heavies to six successive grand finals, and since 2010 has six Premier grade premierships under his belt. The seventh premiership came during his early foray into coaching as the colts 1 GPS head coach in 2000 - which was his junior club as a player. His amazing haul includes last season’s Premier Rugby grand final victory.

Yet another premiership for University - and Mick Heenan, far right. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Heenan’s awesome foursome

Mac Grealy: The 19-year-old tasted Super Rugby last season but watch for the young fullback from Downlands College to take his game up a gear in 2022.

Kalani Thomas: There is a touch of Brett Johnstone (former Reds champion halfback) about this elusive No.9 who has talent to burn.

Kalani Thomas. Training Clinic for Junior players at Nambour Rugby Union Club. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Tom Lynagh: Lynagh is the son of a gun - well, the son of a legend really, Michael Lynagh - who joins the UQ family from the northern hemisphere.

Will Robinson: Put a wildcard watch on this mobile backrower or loose forward who progressed rapidly through the colts grades last season. He is the son of Brumbies (and briefly Queensland) Super Rugby champion Brett Robinson.

Yet more successful PBC SHS last season. Picture: Liam Kidston

TIM MACCAN (PBS SHS, rugby league)

Maccan enters 2022 on the crest of a wave after grand final success at under 18 and two at schoolboy level in 2021. Maccan started the season coaching Tweed Seagulls to a gripping, last minute Mal Meninga Cup (under 18) premiership victory against Townsville Blackhawks. Grand final win No.2 came in the elite Langer Trophy competition, as Maccan guided PBC SHS past stiff opposition from Marsden SHS in the SEQ decider. And then premiership No.3 came when PBC SHS defeated St Brendan’s College in the Phil Hall Cup state final.

PBC SHS’s Keano Kini. Picture: Liam Kidston

Double trouble for Maccan’s opposition teams

Tanu Nona: Nona will go hard out of dummy half when he starts in the PBC SHS Langer Trophy side this season. He is a hooker with the skills of a half - while enjoying the tough stuff.

Keano Kini: A ball playing fullback, he is dangerous with the ball in his hands and has speed to burn. Kini is the complete young player.

Michael Bohl and Emma McKeon Pic by Delly Carr.

MICHAEL BOHL (Swimming, Griffith University)

Simply put, he is one of Australia’s great sporting coaches. Like rugby’s Mick Heenan - see above - Bohl stays in the background and enjoys his athletes taking the limelight. But the quiet achiever has been the coach of Australian swimmers on the podium at every Olympics since 2008. Most spectacular was his last Games when his swimmer Emma McKeon won seven Olympic Games medals in Tokyo - the equal most by any woman in any Olympics.

Michael Bohl at Griffith Uni.

A former Australian Commonwealth Games swimming finalist, he mentored his close mate Dean Boxall when Boxall was earning his stripes as a younger coach at St Peters Western. His contribution to Australian swimming - and sport - is enormous.

Rookie on the rise under Bohl’s watch

Josh Edwards: The 18-year-old broke Mitch Larkin’ Australian age backstroke record at the Queensland titles in December. It was a nice moment given his coach Bohl coached Larkin to his world championship victory in 2015.

Marsden State High School Langer coach Matthew Hartigan with students from the league program - Jacob Tinsley, Coby Black and Saxon Innes. Picture, John Gass

MATT HARTIGAN (Marsden SHS, rugby league)

An elite touch footballer in his day and founder of the 3PTAG touch football competition, Hartigan coached Marsden SHS to its first ever Langer Trophy this season with a group of players who, by in large, were members of his Year 10 Walters Cup winning outfit two years earlier.

Marsden SHS students Will Semu and Taelon Te Whiu Hopa. Picture: Richard Walker

Marsden SHS were then pipped by PBC SHS in an SEQ grand final thriller. Marsden SHS is one of Queensland’s finest league breeding grounds and the snaring of the senior Langer Trophy under Hartigan complements a treasured period which included recent premiership success across its Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 programs.

Rookies to watch under Hartigan

Coby Black: A talented halfback who is contracted by the Brisbane Broncos. This will be his debut season in Langer Trophy football.

Mark Nosa: A Queensland schoolboy 14-15 years representative who can play in the halves or at the back.

Will Semu: Gold Coast Titans contracted centre who has laid the foundations for an influential 2022.

Taelon Te Whiu Hopa: A middle forward with the skills of a halfback, a throwback to ball playing forwards of yesteryear.

VISESIO KITE (GPS club, rugby union)

What is it with rugby and coaching milestones. Earlier in the article we brought you Mick Heenan’s extraordinary coaching record and Visesio Kite now we remind you of what Visesio Kite did in 2021.

GPS player Floyd Aubrey is off - with Bas Ward supporting.. Picture, John Gass

He took GPS from a winless last in 2020, to colts 1 premiers in 2021. Kite pulled together 2020 survivors of a winless season, added a prop and a hooker and a rising representative player Floyd Aubrey and moulded a premiership side. And it is not just that GPS won, they won backing their skills. The team was a blue collar mob who worked for each other under Kite.

GPS Players to Watch in 2022

Floyd Aubrey: A wonderfully gifted fullback with x-factor. He is the youngest member of the Junior Wallabies squad.

Nick Baker: Hard working Baker’s game went to another level in 2021 when he led his hard working pack to premiership success.

GPS Colts one player Harry Barker rose to the occasion in 2021.Picture: Renae Droop

Bas Ward: The most improved player in colts 1 rugby last season. A flyhalf, he has vision, ball skills and nice acceleration.

The Keebra Park SHS winning Murphy Cup team.

NATHAN SMALL (Keebra Park SHS rugby league)

The Keebra Park SHS Head of Department for Basketball and Girls’ Sport Academies has overseen the rise of Keebra Park as a girls’ rugby league powerhouse. Last season the Keebra Park girls, with a seemingly endless array of talent, won by the Karyn Murphy Cup and Titans Cup competitions.

Keeba Park High student Skyla Adams. Picture: Jerad Williams

Keebra Park rookies on the rise

Sunny Gerrard: Slightly under rated in an all-star squad that works hard for each other.

Skyla Adams: The play making Adams has made the Queensland Super W senior squad as a 16-year-old after playing Premier women’s with Bond in 2021.

Chantay Ratu: A long striding edge player who runs great lines. When she and Adams play together, it is red alert time for opposition sides..

Layne Northey: In a powerhouse side it is easy to forget the lovely service she offered her side.

NICOLA JOHNSON (Mermaids water polo)

Johnson and her husband Lance started the Mermaids club in 2014-15, building it into one of the top couple of junior clubs in the country. A former Queensland and Australian player and now an Olympic and international referee Johnson, Johnson’s early batch of rookies - who joined her club aged 12-13 years - were now filtering through into the Queensland Thunder senior side.

Mermaids coach Nicola Johnson. Picture: Richard Walker

Six of the best under Johnson

Taafili Taoso: The 16-year-old from BSHS is the latest Mermaid to burst into the Thunder side, scoring on debut at the weekend.

Lulu Elliott: Elliott made her Thunder debut two years ago, but in her first AWL match of the season on Sunday the 17-year-old scored two goals.

Mermaids juniors and Thunder players Taafili Taoso and Lulue Elliott on Sunday.

Molly Nasser: The left hand goal sneak is another to emerge from Mermaids’ junior ranks and play for Queensland.

Lance and Nicola Johnson, founders of the Mermaids Water Polo Club.

Kate Blew: Blew has been a prolific goal scorer across junior club and representative duties after starting at Mermaids in the under 13s

Chelsea Johnson: The daughter of Nicole Johnson, the junior Australian squad member broke into the AWL this season as a loan player to Hunter Hurricanes alongside another Mermaids’ junior Matilda Elliott - Lulu’s sister.

Nicola Johnson addresses one of her teams.

GREG BROWNING (hockey, South West United)

The great Greg Browning returns to coaching this season to oversee South West United women’s Div 1 campaign. He is a two-time senior men’s premiership winning coach and a 12 season coaching veteran of either QAS or Queensland teams. As a player Browning was 16 years and the youngest player to debut for Australia’s national men’s hockey team, was a four time World Cup medallist and three time Championships Trophy medallist.