There was a huge smile on Karyn Murphy's face stepping into Titans HQ on Monday, officially beginning her reign as the club's new director of female rugby league.
Not only tasked with coaching the club's NRLW side to hopeful premiership glory, the former Queensland and Jillaroos great will also be integral in the identification and development of talent across grassroots, schools from Logan to Lismore.
Ending her tenure with the NRL's Integrity Unit, the champion playmaker is bursting with energy to get going in her new full-time role.
"I’m really excited to join the Titans. It’s a really exciting time in women’s rugby league and the NRLW," Murphy said.
"I watched last season and I’m really keen to be part of it.
"It'll definitely be a new challenge for myself where I'm at, but the opportunity came up here and I'm really excited."
Murphy's reign to begin Monday
Finalising the top 24 squad on Sunday ahead of the first day of pre-season, the new Titans NRLW is glad to have kept a majority of last season's side, given the success had in the inaugural campaign.
"They did a really good job last season, so we wanted to keep a high number of those players," Murphy said.
"We got 16 back out of the 24 from last season, and we are just looking obviously to the future as well (with the six development players added), so there's a really good blend of youth and experience in our squad.
"It's good to have the girls that played here last season and for a lot of staff including myself, we're all new here, so we'll lean on those girls to to tell us a bit about what happened last season.
"It's good to have that experience there from last season, but a new season sees a new group and we're looking forward to it."
That includes marquee signing Lauren Brown as a great asset in the halves, who will pull on her hometown jersey after two seasons with the Broncos.
"With Lauren initially, she had obviously been at the Broncos for a couple of years and played in the No. 9 role there and she does offer that, but we were looking at building our halves up, so we brought Lauren into that role," Murphy said.
"She has a very good kicking game, probably the best in the in the women's comp and that will be a great asset."
Also joining the fray is former Melbourne Storm great Matt Geyer who comes to the club to assist the new NRLW mentor in coaching the side.
"I'm really looking forward to working with Matt," Murphy said.
"He's obviously got a huge wealth of experience - both as a player at the Melbourne Storm and and then as a coach as well and I'm really excited to have him with me."
Away from the NRLW team specifically, Murphy will be working in her new role to continue growing the nursery of female talent on the Gold Coast, working with schools, grassroots clubs and academy programs to transition more and more players into the NRLW system.
"With the new role I've got at the Titans, it's about identifying talent right through from the schools, to clubs and some academies, with the ultimate goal of playing here at NRLW level," Murphy said.
"It's really important because we've got such a huge talent pool here in our region and we really want to keep these girls local and give them a definite pathway for the future."
The Gold Coast Titans NRLW side will spend the next month preparing for Round 1 against the Dragons on Sunday, August 21 in Wollongong.
The 2022 NRLW season is not far away and the Titans are aiming for grand final glory after coming so close in their inaugural season. Show your support with a NRLW membership - on sale now ready for '22!
