Toyota Cowboys 2011 NYC grand final coach Kristian Woolf will return to North Queensland to be the inaugural head coach of the Townsville and Districts Mendi Blackhawks in the Intrust Super Cup.

Blackhawks football operations manager Adrian Thomson confirmed Woolf’s appointment on a three-year contract this afternoon.

“We specifically targeted Kristian for the role of head coach not only because of his coaching experience but also his knowledge of the region and the TDRL competition,” Thomson said.

“We regard him as a local, he spent much of his coaching career here and that means we can hit the ground running.”

“He is an outstanding mentor who commands respect and inspires a genuine drive for success within his teams.

“An emerging club such as ours needs a strong leader and we believe we have successfully achieved this in signing Kristian.”

Woolf began his coaching career as an assistant at Townsville Brothers Senior Rugby Club from 2002-2005 when he was also teaching and coaching rugby league at Ignatius Park College.

He led the Ignatius Park team to the Queensland State Schoolboys Championship in 2004.

Two years later, Woolf started working with the Cowboys as development manager and his career breakthrough came in 2009 when he was offered the club’s Toyota Cup under-20s coaching job.

In 2010 he took the Cowboys through to the semi-finals and in 2011 all the way to the grand final, only to narrowly miss out on the title in golden point extra-time against the New Zealand Warriors.

He has been an assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos under head coach Anthony Griffin for the past three years.

“This head coaching role is an exciting opportunity for me and I believe I will definitely start with some momentum given my strong connection with the area and the local players I have coached previously,” Woolf said.

“I'm looking forward to the unique challenge that a new club like the Blackhawks will bring.

"My first priority will be working with Happy Thomson on recruitment and then we'll focus on developing a strong off-season program that gives the players the best opportunity to be competitive in 2015.”