Tim Sheens

Veteran forward, a member of a well-known footballing family in the Penrith area, was a fine ball-player in his own right before becoming one of the best of the modern breed of coaches. Sheens was first graded in 1969 but preferred to play a season of second division RU before returning to the club the following year. A second rower earlier in his career (he had his jaw broken in Penrith's loss to Western Division in the 1974 Amco Cup final), he spent the latter part of his career as a prop. After establishing a club record number of grade games (258), Sheens could not come to terms with the club at the end of the 1982 season. The following year he captained Campbelltown to a premiership title in the Group 6 competition and represented NSW Country. In 1984, Sheens accepted the coaching position at Penrith - a move that proved to be the turning point in the club's fortunes. The following year the Panthers made the semis for the first time due largely to Sheens' professional approach, skills training and his knowledge of local players and their talents. The 'Dally M' Coach of the Year in 1984 (and later in 1990), he left the club after four mixed seasons for greater success at Canberra. The champion Raiders team won back-to-back premierships in 1989-90 and would have made it three straight but for factors beyond Sheens' control - injuries to star players, financial mismanagement and a hungrier Penrith side. Politics limited his term as NSW coach to just one season (a series defeat in 1991) but in 1994 he guided the Raiders to an authoritative grand final win - the club's third premiership in seven seasons under his control. Sheens was one of the first coaches signed by the Super League and after nine seasons with the Raiders he linked with the North Queensland North Queensland in 1997. Despite a disappointing Super League season - in which the club finished last - Sheens signed a five-year contract to stay with the North Queensland. After failing to make an impact in the NRL premiership in his six seasons with the North Queensland, Sheens ‘resigned’ midway through 2001 (after being forced by the club to stand down for ‘health reasons’), but not before setting a record number of first grade matches as a coach. In 2003 he took on the coaching role with the W’Tigers club (appointing Royce Simmons his assistant) and took the troubled club to the brink of the finals in 2004.