Warriors appoint new coaching
staff

Cullen Sports chairman Maurice Kidd today named Ivan Cleary as the new Vodafone Warriors head coach.

He replaces 2004-05 head coach Tony Kemp following a review of the club?s 2005 NRL season.

Football development manager John Ackland has been appointed the new assistant coach while Kevin Campion completes the coaching team as skills coach.

?As a result of the review we have put in place a structure which best-suits the club?s needs to have us performing consistently at the highest level,? said Kidd.

?With Ivan as head coach, supported by John, this is the structure to take us forward.? Kidd said the review conducted over the last two weeks had produced a number of findings and recommendations which were presented to and endorsed by the Cullen Sports board yesterday.

The outcome of the review has led to the following structure and appointments: ? Head coach ? Ivan Cleary ? Assistant coach ? John Ackland ? Skills coach ? Kevin Campion ? Head conditioner ? Keir Hansen ? Football manager ? Don Mann ? Medical director ? John Mayhew ? Physiotherapist ? Jude Spiers

Campion will also fill the role of trainer while Hansen will double as the football department?s video analyst.

With Cleary (34) stepping up, Ackland (47) has been promoted as the new assistant coach and will continue to oversee the club?s development programme. Tony Iro has been appointed development coach of the club?s Allied Workforce junior elite squad and will also work closely with schools.

Kidd said the Cullen Sports board was delighted with the combined coaching talents Cleary and Ackland provided. ?We believe Ivan has all the ability to be a first-class coach and we?re keen to give him that opportunity and to give him every support we can,? he said.

?John has had considerable coaching experience with the Warriors in the past, both at under-19 and reserve grade level. He also coached Mt Albert to the Bartercard Cup title in 2002 and has proven himself to be a very good judge in spotting new talent. His other strength is that he provides a strong connection with the game locally. That?s important to us as we re-establish our relationships with local league.? While excited about the new line-up, Kidd said the board was grateful to Kemp.

?We appreciate the job Tony did for us,? he said. ?He came in under trying circumstances last year and we achieved a lot of good things under Tony. But while the team improved in a number of areas this year we still didn?t have the success our stakeholders and fans expect.?

In endorsing the new structure, Kidd said the board had additionally asked board member John Hart to take on additional responsibilities as executive director of football. ?In this position he will help and mentor the coaching staff using his background in human resource management and coaching at the highest level.?

New Vodafone Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah had the opportunity to consider the coaching review and participate in the final decision-making process to agree on the new structure. He said he looked forward to beginning work on the 2006 season with Cleary and his team.