Kristian Woolf
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Born | Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia[1] | 6 July 1975||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] As of 7 November 2022 |
Kristian Woolf (born 6 July 1975) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the assistant coach of the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the head coach of Tonga at international level.
He previously was the head coach of St Helens whom he coached to the 2020, 2021 and the 2022 Super League Grand Final wins, four straight for the club and three straight for Woolf. He was also interim head coach of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Playing career
Hailing from
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
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
Woolf was appointed head coach of the
2017 Rugby League World Cup Woolf guided Tonga to beat NZ Kiwi and a thriller with England at Semi Final.
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]
After defeating NZ Kiwi in 2017, Woolf led Tonga in 2019 to defeat both the British Lions Rugby League and the World Champion Australian Kangaroos.
He coached St Helens in the club's 8-4
He coached St Helens to victory in the
On 9 October 2021, Woolf coached St Helens to their 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over the Catalans Dragons.[16]
On 24 September 2022, Woolf coached St Helens in their 2022 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds in his final game in charge of the club.[17]
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 |
Dolphins
In late 2022, Woolf was signed as an assistant coach by the Dolphins for their inaugural 2023 season in the National Rugby League competition. In 2025, he is to replace Wayne Bennett as head coach.
Personal life
Woolf's brother, Ben, is the current coach of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side.[18]
His sister Katie Woolf is one of Australia’s only female commercial talkback radio broadcasters, on Mix FM Darwin. Meet Katie Woolf
References
- ^ "Blackhawks head west". Qrl.com.au. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Kristian Woolf - Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
- ^ "Head coach named for Blackhawks". Cowboys.com.au. 29 September 2014. 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". Townsville Bulletin. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Blackhawks clinch minor premiership". Nrl.com. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Ipswich Jets win Intrust Super Cup". Nrl.com. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Tonga qualify for 2017 World Cup". Nrl.com. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Samoa v Tonga: Five key points". Nrl.com. 8 May 2016. 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". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
- ^ "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ http://www.tweedheadsseagulls.com.au/news/ben-woolf-is-seagulls-isc-coach-for-2018.html [dead link]