The Whitsunday Brahmans have scored a major coup, luring one-time captain and former Foley Shield-winning coach Cameron McPherson back to Proserpine. McPherson, who guided Townsville to Foley Shield glory in 2010 while also coaching his club side, the Burdekin Roosters, has agreed to head up next year’s Brahmans – the same he played for under local legend Eddie Muller in 2002.
"It’s a great club with loads of potential. "I’m really excited by the challenge ahead," said McPherson, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian after farewelling the Burdekin club at
the Roosters’ presentation dinner on Saturday.
"Prossie’s a great town and they love their rugby league. I really like the town and the way they support the Brahmans. I want to help, I want to improve the standard and build over the season. I’ll start from the bottom and work from there."
Born and raised at Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands, McPherson, 35, will be a non-playing coach, similar to his role in Ayr over the past four years – highlighted by Burdekin’s grand final appearance in this year’s Townsville competition. In fact, during his four years at the helm of the senior side, the Roosters were always in contention for the TDRL premiership and with a bit of luck, the Tri-Colours would have jagged the 2011 title against the Murray Hurst-coached Brothers.
"We never finished worse than third," explained McPherson, who also coached Townsville to last year’s XXXX Cup grand final against Gold Coast.
Brahmans official Paul Maxwell said McPherson’s signing was a massive boost for the Green Machine in their quest to win a first-ever Mackay premiership, especially following on from a solid campaign under player-coach Adam Wright.
"We’ve tried to get Cameron in the past but it just didn’t happen. Now the planets have lined up and he’s coming back as coach. We couldn’t be happier," said Maxwell, who was largely responsible for contract negotiations with the ex-Brahmans hooker.
As a player, McPherson was a stand-out in the Cairns competition, helping his hometown of Mareeba to no less than three premierships. At the same time, he featured in three Foley Shield grand finals for Cairns before winning one with Townsville in 2003.
That same year, McPherson was man-of-the-match for the Roosters in the club’s grand final victory before turning his hand to coaching – his first success coming in 2007 when he was captain-coach of Burdekin’s triumphant reserve grade side.
"He’s got plenty of experience as a player and coach and has been very successful," Maxwell said.
"He knows our club and will fit in extremely well."
Away from rugby league, McPherson works as sales manager and animal nutritionist for Elders in Bowen, where he services rural customers from Proserpine in the south, north to Giru and west to Mt Coolon.
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