Queensland Country Coaches Appointed for Australian Country Championships

Water Polo Queensland is delighted to appoint Emma Hill (Gold Coast) and Ian Moss (Townsville) as the head coaches for the Queensland Country teams, who will be competing at the upcoming Australian Country Championships in Rockhampton this May.

The two will be looking to lead their teams to gold during this weekend’s Queensland Country Championships in Townsville. The competition will also be the perfect opportunity to scout for the best regional talent to represent Queensland in Rockhampton. We caught up with the Emma and Ian to get their reaction to the news.

Congratulations! Is this the first time you’ve coached a Queensland Country team?

EH – I’ve been involved for the past two years, coaching the girls to bronze in 2015 and silver in Tasmania this year.

IM – I was in Tasmania last year as well and helped coach the boys to bronze.

So this year, the goal is to go one better?

EH – Absolutely!

IM – Well hopefully two better! We don’t plan on losing any games, we should have a good team that should be able to take it to that next level.

The teams look really strong this year, are there any players that you’ve got in mind for the Queensland team or are you looking to see who plays well this weekend?

EH – Yeah, definitely we will see how is playing well in Townsville. We’ve got a new team from Cairns and some Gold Coast girls who are now playing up in Rockhampton. So, there is a bit of shake up this year and it will be good to see everyone and go into the weekend with a clean slate.

IM – There are a couple of players that will write themselves a ticket. We’ve gained one of the Australian Countries goalkeepers, Matt Brady. He is a Defence Force Reservist and has made himself available for Queensland as it’s home state. He is what I call a bookend, who will be hard to pass.  There is also Cairns who are led by former National League player, Jesse O’Hara. They also have a couple of tall rangy left-handers, which is always good.

Obviously, coaching for Queensland is fantastic but is the next step coaching the Australian Country teams?

EH – I have thought about it, obviously, but they have brought on Jo Clark this year who is a Sydney Olympian with a gold medal under her belt. She has fantastic coaching credentials and it’s something that I would aspire to do but at the moment, I’m focusing on Queensland.

IM – Personally, I would love to coach at a higher level. I guess as you come back and try to relive the old playing days, you look at ways you can contribute and give back. Then the excitement kicks in about coaching and guiding players. There is nothing more gratifying than doing that at the highest level.

Good luck to Emma and Ian who will be coaching Gold Coast women and Townsville men this weekends at the Queensland Country Championships.