Mackay Cutters have announced the appointment of Michael Comerford as the club’s head coach, for the next two seasons.
Comerford, Cutter #38, will become the club's 10th coach of their Hostplus Cup side.
The former outside back, who is a well-known and highly respected identity across the Mackay community, had an impressive playing career with the club and featured in 51 games for the Cutters during the 2008-2013 seasons, scoring 21 tries in total.
This past season, he worked as the Cup senior assistant coach.
Cutters chief executive officer Mitch Cook said he was excited to welcome Comerford and his family into his new role.
“Comerford, a proud clubman, has progressed through our coaching pathway and his appointment highlights the club’s purpose to develop rugby league pathways for the Mackay community," Cook said.
"An important objective to our current strategy is developing people from within which we acknowledge is crucial for future club success.
“We are extremely confident in Michael’s ability to achieve a strong and competitive team and look forward to see the club flourish under his leadership.”
Mackay Cutters head of football Kim Williams said Comerford would be a natural fit in his newly appointed role.
“It was an easy decision to appoint Michael as our next head coach for season 2023 and beyond," Williams said.
"He has been an exceptional servant to the game here in Mackay, having played for the Cutters before starting his coaching journey through the local school system and the Cutters junior representative programs.
“He is an extremely knowledgeable coach who has the total respect of our current playing group, and we believe his transition into this role will be a very easy one.
"We are delighted to have Michael on board, and we believe his passion for the Cutters and the local area will be reflected in the performance of the whole club as we move forward."
Comerford takes over the role following the recent announcement of the departure of 2022 coach Dave Elliott, who has been appointed to the head coaching role at Norths Devils for the 2023 season.
The club thanked Elliott for his service to the Cutters for the past season and progress he has made with the players.
