Kristian Woolf
Kristian Woolf (born 6 July 1975) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the Betfred Super League and Tonga at international level.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 July 1975 Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 8 January 2021 Source: [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He previously was the interim head coach of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He took charge of St Helens for the start of the 2020 Super League season, winning the Grand Final at the KCOM Stadium at his first attempt. The 2020 Grand Final is widely regarded as the best ever, and certainly the most dramatic, when Saints rookie Jack Welsby scored the winning try. He coached the first back-to-back Super League team for St. Helens since the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
Playing career
Hailing from Mount Isa, Queensland, Woolf played for the Souths Magpies in Brisbane between 1996 and 1997.
Coaching career
In 2002, Woolf began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Townsville Brothers in the Townsville & District Rugby League (TDRL) competition. At the same time, Woolf was teaching at Ignatius Park College and coaching their senior rugby league side, winning the Queensland State Schoolboys Championship in 2004.[3]
In 2005, Woolf joined the North Queensland Cowboys as their junior development manager. After holding the role for four seasons, Woolf became the team's NYC coach in 2009. He took the side to the finals for the first time in 2010 and to their first Grand Final in 2011, which they lost in golden point to the New Zealand Warriors.[4]
In 2012, Woolf joined the Brisbane Broncos as an assistant coach to Anthony Griffin.[5]
In 2015, he returned to North Queensland as the inaugural coach of the new Intrust Super Cup side, the Townsville Blackhawks.[6] In the club's first season, the side finished in first place and qualified for the Grand Final, losing to the Ipswich Jets.[7][8]
Woolf was appointed head coach of the Tongan national team in 2014. In October 2015, Woolf recorded his first win with Tonga in the Asia-Pacific 2017 World Cup qualifying game against the Cook Islands.[9] In 2016, Woolf's Tonga team suffered a second straight defeat by Samoa in the Polynesian Cup.[10]
On 26 September 2018, Woolf officially left his role as Blackhawks' head coach, which he held for four seasons, to take up an assistant coaching position with the Newcastle Knights.[11]
On 27 August 2019, Woolf was named interim head coach with Newcastle for the remainder of the 2019 season after Nathan Brown stepped down.[12]
On 10 September 2019, it was announced that Woolf would take up the head coach role at St. Helens in 2020, signing a two-year contract with the club having the option to extend a further year.[13]
He coached St Helens in the club's 8-4 2020 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull.[14]
Tonga record
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win Ratio (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cook Islands |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 England |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 |
 Fiji |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 Lebanon |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 New Zealand |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 |
 Papua New Guinea |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 |
 Samoa |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.00 |
 Scotland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| TOTAL | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 60.00 |
| World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| Australia/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea 2017 | Third place | 3/14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | ||
Personal life
Woolf's brother, Ben, is the current coach of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side.[15]
His sister Katie Woolf is one of Australia’s only female commercial talkback radio broadcasters, on Mix FM Darwin. Meet Katie Woolf
| Preceded by Charlie Tonga |
Coach Tonga national rugby league team 2014-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Nathan Brown |
Coach (interim) Newcastle Knights 2019 |
Succeeded by Adam O'Brien |
| Preceded by Justin Holbrook |
Coach St. Helens 2020-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
References
- "Blackhawks head west". Qrl.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Kristian Woolf - Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
- "Head coach named for Blackhawks". Cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- Barton, Joe (2 October 2011). "Warriors win Toyota Cup thriller". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Woolf hungry for Cowboys glory". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "The Woolf pack". Townsvillebulletin.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Blackhawks clinch minor premiership". Nrl.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Ipswich Jets win Intrust Super Cup". Nrl.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Tonga qualify for 2017 World Cup". Nrl.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Samoa v Tonga: Five key points". Nrl.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Farewell to Coach Kristian Woolf". 26 September 2018.
- "Nathan Brown to depart Newcastle Knights, effective immediately". National Rugby League. 27 August 2019.
- "Kristian Woolf to leave Knights for St Helens". Newcastle Knights. 10 September 2019.
- "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". www.bbc.co.uk.
- http://www.tweedheadsseagulls.com.au/news/ben-woolf-is-seagulls-isc-coach-for-2018.html