BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls Hostplus Cup Coach Mathew Head has officially re-signed with the club for a further 3 seasons. This deal will keep Head at Wynnum Manly until the end of the 2028 season, totalling six years in charge of the Seagulls football program.

Head has lifted the professionalism at the Seagulls during his first two seasons, coming from the Dragons and Tigers NRL coaching systems, with notable changes in strength and conditioning, rehabilitation, communication and the structure of our programs.

Implementing his coaching style from the Hostplus Cup team downwards, has also seen dozens of Seagulls players sign with NRL/W clubs during this time.

“It’s a proud moment for me and my family to extend my contract here at the Seagulls. This is where I want to be, and it feels like an exciting time to be at the club. I’m grateful to Wayne and the board for the opportunity, and can’t wait to play on Sunday.

“It’s a great opportunity to solidify the changes that we’ve made to the Seagulls football program. Everything we have implemented, we’ve believed is a positive change, and we will reap the rewards in the future”.

The club has undergone a transition since 2023, with many high-quality staff and players recruited to the club by Head and his staff. “There’s plenty of new faces in the squad this year, which brings a fresh perspective, and us as coaches have enjoyed working with them all during the pre-season. Now we get to kick off 2025 with Burleigh at home on Sunday, and there’s not a better way to start, in my opinion”.

Asked whether the Seagulls can go all the way this year, Head said: “The ultimate goal of every season is to win the premiership. And we have certainly put a squad together that we think can do that. Obviously, the affiliation with the Broncos helps our chances, as it does every club with their own NRL affiliate, but we are very confident in the players we have signed at the Seagulls and our goal is to win the last game of the season”.

This is great news for the BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls on the eve of our first game of the season on Sunday, and provides stability for the playing and coaching groups for the year ahead.

The BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls hosted the 2025 Season Launch on Friday at Wynnum Golf Club, following the conclusion of a great day on course.

Players, staff, club sponsors, life members, and guests, joined together to bring in the new season.

The QLD Rugby League’s Tom Mitchell led from the front as our emcee for the evening and touched on the excitement around a new season across all statewide competitions.

Seagulls CEO Wayne Weekes reinforced the Seagulls’ effort to embrace our local community more than ever in 2025, and wished all players and staff well for the season.

After announcing our 2025 playing squad, Hostplus Cup coach Mathew Head and Captain Brendan Frei, joined Tom Mitchell on stage for an interview. See below for full Hostplus Cup squad.

Our BMD Premiership coach Ron Troutman and player representative Lilly Green, then spoke about the upcoming changes to the women’s competition format, and how that will impact their 2025 season.

Following on, our two junior academy mangers, Jon Buchanan and Darren Ferricks, talked through their player identification and development process. The Seagulls have a long history of developing youth talent and it was great to get an insight behind the scenes from these to coaches.

Our final panel for the evening consisted of Hostplus Cup players Chaz Jarvis, Josh Coric and Toni Tupouniua. All three boys have moved from interstate to play for the Seagulls this season, and also happen to live together. A great group of young men, with some good stories to tell.

There is plenty of exctiement in the air with the 2025 Hostplus Cup season kicking off this weekend. You can view our full season draw here.

We hope to see you at BMD Kougari Oval very soon!

2025 Hostplus Cup Squad:

Beni Allen	Zane Ford	Charlie Johnstone	Ugo Tison
Will Allen	Justin Frain	Ethan Malt	Jeremy Trappett
Tahj Amone	Brendan Frei (Captain)	Will Parslow	Lebron Tuala
Josh Berryman	Luke Gale	Ronald Philitoga	Toni Tupouniua
Cameron Bukowski	Jordan Grant	Cooper Roberts	Ethan Unicomb
Josh Coric	Jamie Hill	Tieran Ross	Marcus Walker
Cassius Cowley	Richard Holani	Kalolo Saitaua	Nathan Ward
Bryce Donovan	Sione Hopoate	Jude Saldanha	Lachlan Watt
Oskar Enasio	Patrick Hoult	Nathaniel Tangimataiti	Jamie Zaghini
Ben Farr	Chaz Jarvis

Place Wynnum Manly have recently extended their partnership with the BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls for a further 3 seasons.

Having sponsored our club since 2022, the Seagulls are excited to continue our strong partnership into the future.

Formerly consisting Place Gumdale and Place Manly, the business has recently rebranding to become Place Wynnum Manly.

This change is part of Place’s ongoing growth strategy, “from West to Water,” and reflects the expanding influence of The Place One Group in the region’s vibrant coastal communities.

The Wynnum Manly area offers a larger population base, is seeing significant growth in coastal living, and already has a strong presence of Place agents servicing the community.

This move allows Place to strengthen their position and continue providing tailored, high-quality services to the greater Brisbane region.

Under the guidance of Glenn Bool and his team at Place Wynnum Manly, we’re keen to work together for another 3 seasons and continue to strengthen our bond.

You can get in touch with Place Wynnum Manly below, or see the team around our home games at BMD Kougari Oval!
Website: https://www.eplace.com.au/office/wynnummanly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/placewynnummanly/

Brisbane Broncos are hosting a taping and education night on Tuesday 18th of February at their Red Hill training facility.

Hosted by Matt Barradeen, part of the Broncos Medical staff, this free event will once again provide a great learning opportunity for strappers and sports trainers of all skill levels.

Supported by the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and the Souths Logan Magpies as the Broncos Hostplus Cup affiliates, this night is proudly funded by our Associate partner Elastoplast.

If you would like to register for this event (it is open to all participants), please email admin@wynnumseagulls.com.au.

Broncos Strapping and Education Night:
Date – Tues 18th of February at 6pm
Location – 81 Fulcher Road, Red Hill
Cost – Free

Lionel Morgan was announced as a Member of the Order of Australia at the recent Australia Day Honours

Lionel was awarded this honour for significant service to rugby league, and to the Indigenous community.

This is a proud moment for the entire Morgan family, who have been heavily involved with the Wynnum Manly Seagulls, including the 4 Morgan sons, David, Brad, Earl and Chris, who all spent time playing for the Seagulls throughout their rugby league careers

In addition to his recognition on Australia Day, Lionel has previously been named in the Indigenous rugby league team of the century, and in 2024 was posthumously inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame as number 116.

Lionel was a pioneer of rugby league and is widely recognised as the first Indigenous player to represent Australia in any major sporting code.

He represented the Wynnum Manly Seagulls from 1959-68, playing as captain-coach between 1965-67, and also played for QLD 12 times, and Australia 3 times.

He still holds the Seagulls club record for the most tries in one match – six against Souths at Davies Park in 1964.

Lionel left a significant legacy at the Seagulls, and we tried to honour him through the introduction of the Lionel Morgan Medal for our Player of the Match on North Stradbroke Island in recent years. Lionel was also the first player to appear on our Seagulls ‘walk of fame’ at our front entry gate, given his incredible contribution to the game and the inspiration he has provided to Indigenous youth.

We’d like to extend our congratulations to the Morgan family on this recent honour, with the medal to be awarded mid-year in a commemorative ceremony.

On Saturday, the Brisbane Broncos academy players travelled to BMD Kougari Oval for a trial match against the Seagulls.

The boys in red and green consisted of a mix of our BRL squad and our Mal Meninga Cup players.

Seagulls supporters showed up in great numbers for the first match of the new season, with the attendance exceeding the club’s expectations.

The Broncos were too strong on the day, winning 40-4, but it was a good chance for our younger players to have a run ahead of more specific trials over the coming weekends.

This Saturday 25th of January our McDonalds Seagulls academy teams all trial at Redlands rugby league club, before a second trial at Capalaba rugby league club on Saturday 1st of February.

Then on Saturday 15th of February, our academy teams will compete in Round 1, while our Hostplus Cup team will trial against Souths Logan Magpies.

Our 2025 merchandise range is here courtesy of our official apparel provider, EV2 Sportswear.

With new items including a fishing shirt and bucket hat, plus redesigned polo shirts, training shorts and more, there is plenty for everyone.

You can view the full range here.

Keep an eye out as there is more to come closer to the start of the season.

Get yourself dressed in red and green to support the Seagulls in 2025!

 

The Seagulls are excited to be partnering with Seventeen Media in a new podcast series that will provide valuable information to up-and-coming rugby league players.

Created by Justin Bath from Seventeen Media, and supported by the Seagulls, this podcast is aimed particularly at teenage rugby league players that are searching for a way through the congestion to reach the heights on the NRL.

Initial guests have included Wynnum Manly’s very Jon Buchanan (Male Pathways Manager), Mat Head (Hostplus Head Coach) and Blake Trace (Mal Meninga Cup Coach).

These first guest speakers have taken a deep dive into the development of rugby league players, both as current coaches, and as former players to provide an insight into the process behind the scenes.

Jon Buchanan and Blake Trace identify how to stand out in junior rugby league programs, and outline their approach to developing young talent. While Mat Head chats about his playing days in the NRL and his current coaching philosophy.

Click below to watch current episodes and keep an eye out for more great content from Seventeen Media on Youtube.

Jon Buchanan – Male Pathways Manager

Mat Head – Hostplus Cup Head Coach

Blake Trace – Mal Meninga U19 Head Coach

Get your first footy fix for 2025 this Saturday as our BRL A Grade squad will take on the Brisbane Broncos academy players.

Kicking off at 4pm at BMD Kougari Oval, come and see the players that will look to defend the Wynnum Manly Juniors BRL A Grade premiership, against the future Broncos superstars.

It’s only $2 entry for adults on Saturday, with kids 15 and under free as per normal game days. Gates open at 3pm.

The mighty Chook Pen will be open, and our new merchandise will be available for sale.

See you on Saturday!

#UpTheGulls

On Saturday 16th of November, some of our staff and female players headed down to McDonalds Capalaba to support McHappy Day.

Always a fun day for the community, our local McDonalds restaurants raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) South East QLD to fund the great work they do with sick kids.

Seagulls players and staff attended McDonalds Capalaba on the day, after previous years fundraising at McDonalds Tingalpa and Wynnum West.

Channel 9 did a live cross to speak to our players and staff around fundraising efforts on the day, providing a great opportunity for us to promote our connection to McDonalds Bayside.

Despite the pouring rain on the day, the local community showed up to support RMHCSEQ.

McDonalds Bayside do a great job in funding community sport initiatives and have been a partner of the Seagulls for many years.

We continue to recommend that you support the businesses that support the Seagulls.