FORMER Dragons halfback Mathew Head will look to lead the club's women to glory in 2021 after being unveiled as the red v's new NRLW head coach.
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The appointment was announced on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the upcoming season.
He takes over the reins from Daniel Lacey, who parted ways with the club earlier this month.
Head, who played more than 60 NRL games during two stints with St George Illawarra, has accumulated plenty of coaching experience since hanging up the boots in 2009.
Highlights include leading Balmain to the 2013 SG Ball premiership and claiming the 2019 minor premiership with the Dragon's NSW Cup team.
The 38-year-old also coached the NSW State of Origin team in 2014 and 2015, where he presented incumbent Dragons captain Kezie Apps with her maiden Blues jersey.
Head is currently head coach of the inaugural Dragons Academy program. He had a taste of women's premiership action last year as an assistant to Lacey.
"I'm really looking forward to creating a winning and exciting culture, but most importantly, a culture that's professional and disciplined," Head said.
"Our men's team is going to some good places currently with 'Hook' [Anthony Griffin] at the helm.
"I'm really excited and inspired by our NRL squad and am looking forward to transferring things across to our women's program.
"There's a lot of improvement that can be achieved.
"Hopefully, the girls buy into what it means to be a Dragon.
"That's one thing we have tried to instill in our Dragons Academy, and it's something I want to bring across to our women's program."
The female Dragons academy is set to begin in a fortnight, which Head believes will be crucial for club's future success in the NRLW.
"The earlier you can get them, to explain the basics of the game, will be a great opportunity," he said.
"The academy will receive a lot of great coaching and as the years go on, hopefully they'll aspire to be an NRLW player."
Head's appointment has been backed by Dragons general manager of football Ben Haran, who said he was a "really exciting appointment for our NRLW program".
"We thought the change was necessary for the program's success moving forward and Mat brings a lot of great qualities as a coach," Haran said.
"The women's game is becoming more and more professional, so the opportunity to be able to allocate one of our full-time resources, who works within our men's program, to our NRLW team is a real asset for us as a club.
"We're keen to build a strong connection across both our men's and women's teams."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
