Premiership-winning Burleigh coach Jim Lenihan to join Gold Coast Titans as assistant

BURLEIGH’S two-time Intrust Super Cup-winning coach, Jim Lenihan, will take the next step in his career in 2020 after joining the Gold Coast Titans as an assistant.

BURLEIGH’S two-time Intrust Super Cup-winning coach, Jim Lenihan, will take the next step in his career in 2020 after joining the Gold Coast Titans as an assistant.

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Lenihan, who steered the Bears to the ISC crown late last month after claiming the 2016 title, and Jim Dymock will be the right-hand men to Titan head coach Justin Holbrook after the NRL club confirmed his appointment today.

Lenihan’s final act as Burleigh coach was to oversee their heartbreaking 20-16 loss to Newtown in Sunday’s NRL State Championship in Sydney.

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Luke Burt and Craig Hodges served as assistants to Garth Brennan this season before the latter was sacked in July.

Lenihan, a former centre/winger who played 46 games for the Gold Coast Seagulls and St George between 1995-98 before finishing his career with the Huddersfield Giants, will front a media conference at the Titans’ Parkwood headquarters at 2pm today.

Jim Lenihan at Titans training in July. Picture: Gold Coast Titans

The 46-year-old may not be the only one headed for the exit at Burleigh, with five-eighth Dylan Phythian and winger Tyronne Roberts-Davis understood to have attracted interest from NRL clubs.

Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell praised the appointment of Lenihan to their coaching staff from the 2020 season.

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“Jimmy has proven himself as a terrific coach during his successful tenure at Burleigh, not just for the premierships he has won, but for the way he has been able to extract the best out of his players,” Mitchell said.

Lenihan with Burleigh captain Luke Page. Picture: Tim Marsden

“It is a tremendously exciting prospect for the Titans that, if things go as we hope with Justin Holbrook and St Helens on the weekend, we may have two current premiership coaches from two different competitions working together at our club next year.

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“Jimmy ticks a lot of boxes in what we were looking for in an assistant coach. He is a very successful coach, he is a long-time Gold Coast resident with strong connections to local rugby league and the local community with a genuine desire to see our region succeed in the NRL.”