The Titans are proud to have appointed Simon Buxton to the newly-created NRLW head of high performance to strengthen the club's elite women's rugby league program.
Joining the Gold Coast from the Jillaroos - where he was the elite female performance manager for the past eight years - Buxton has been instrumental in the growth and success of the women's game at a national level since leaving the Queensland Police Service.
During his time with the national side, the Jillaroos achieved tremendous success only losing one Test match; that being against Titans captain Georgia Hale's Kiwi Ferns in the 2023 Pacific Championships.
"I'm really excited to join the Titans and I'm really looking forward to the challenge," Buxton said.
"I've only been involved in short Test match campaigns with the Jillaroos so competing in the longer NRLW competition will be a welcomed change.
"My personal goal is to work just as hard as the players. We hold the players accountable every time they train or play, so I think it's important that I give them and the club my best effort as well.
"Work ethic and diligence to the job is key for me.
"As a performance guy, I don't proclaim to have the 'silver bullet' for success but will certainly draw on my experience working with elite women from a strength and conditioning, research, women's health and pathways perspective."
Match: Cowboys v Titans
Round 1 -
home Team
Cowboys
away Team
Titans
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
No stranger to working with Karyn Murphy when with the Jillaroos, the renowned strength and conditioning mentor is excited to be re-linking with the Titans coach.
"I've been lucky enough to work with Murph before and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to work with her at the Titans," Buxton said.
"She has built a fantastic roster with great support staff to compliment them.
"I can already see how tight the Titans staff are and the passion for the sport is very obvious."
Murphy welcomes Buxton's appointment to the Titans with his role set to be extremely important to compliment the expanded competition.
"As the women's calendar continues to expand with the rapid growth of our game, it's important we support this with our high performance program, and why Simon's acquisition is so important for our Titans NRLW squad," she said.
"He's one of the leading high performance managers in the game and has a proven track record at the highest levels of the game with nearly a decade of experience at the NRL with the Jillaroos.
"He understands the unique intricacies and differences of the female game and his knowledge and experience working in elite women's rugby league is second to none; earning so much respect through his many relationships across the game at both a national and international level.
"Last season showed it's important to have all 24 players in our squad fit, healthy and ready to play across the season and 'Bucko' will be pivotal to that, as well as working with our female academies and elite player pathway."
Buxton has already begun preparations with the Titans, opting to withdraw from the Jillaroos' upcoming Test match in Las Vegas to focus on his new role.
