At the conclusion of the 2023 season, the winds of change blew through the North Tamworth Bears.
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Some changes were bittersweet - such as the retirements of Scott Blanch, Josh Schmiedel, and Ben Jarvis from the Bears' premiership-winning first grade side.
![Damian Kenniff brings a wealth of experience to the role and was excited to rejoin the ranks of club football once again. Picture by Peter Hardin. Damian Kenniff brings a wealth of experience to the role and was excited to rejoin the ranks of club football once again. Picture by Peter Hardin.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/cc37f083-8d75-46d7-908d-f479ccde5ad8.jpg/r239_275_7302_4642_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Some, however, have been welcomed, like the appointment of Damian Kenniff as coach of the North Tamworth league tag team.
"I've watched it this year and ran the water," Kenniff said.
"I admired how tough the comp was, it was very even. And the Bears girls turned up every week, trained hard, and played well.
"The club's been good to me, it was my first year this year. And so I thought if they needed a coach, I'd help out."
Kenniff, who formerly played NSWRL football for the Gold Coast in the late 1980s, has stepped in after incumbent captain-coach, Steph Halpin, decided to hand over the reins.
In just her first year at the helm, Halpin led the Bears to a premiership, but decided that she needed to lessen her load in 2024.
"Because of the complexities of [coaching] along with the multiple commitments I had, it was probably the right decision for my family," Halpin said.
And though Halpin's one year in charge went as well as she could have hoped, she had no qualms about passing the job to Kenniff, with whom she was initially supposed to co-coach in 2024.
"He's been around the club, he's been really helpful with us," Halpin said.
"He helped me out at the back end of last season. He's got his own very credible rugby league experience and history himself ... so he's very knowledgeable and I think he'll do wonderful things with the girls."
Since calling time on his playing career, Kenniff has compiled roughly 20 years of coaching experience.
Over the last decade, the majority of his coaching has taken place in tandem with his work as a teacher, first at Farrer, then McCarthy Catholic College more recently.
The last time he oversaw club football was more than 10 years ago, with the Wagga Kangaroos' first grade outfit.
Kenniff sees coaching as a "privileged position", and said he intends to continue what Halpin started.
"To go back-to-back is difficult, but I'd like that," he said.
"You like to be the benchmark, we'll work hard to continue what Steph did."
Several years ago, Kenniff was invited to get involved with the Bears through Paul Boyce, but couldn't commit the time.
However, he knew several people at the club, such as Brad McManus, Shane Wadwell Sr, and Scott Blanch, and eventually entered the fold in 2023.
"I just wanted to get back into being a part of a rugby league club," Kenniff said.
"I'd missed it."
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