His playing days may be finished, but Mitch Dunn’s career at the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys is not.
Dunn has recently commenced a newly created role at the Cowboys as Game Development Coach, with the 26-year-old to work with junior rugby league coaches throughout North Queensland teaching the coaching practices used at the Cowboys.
Reporting to Cowboys Head of NRL Elite Pathways Glenn Hall, Dunn will also work closely with Elite Pathways Coach Steve Sheppard and the Cowboys Young Guns squad and Academies programs over the course of the pre-season.
Joining the coaching ranks will ensure Dunn has experienced every facet of the Cowboys football pathways.
Raised in Mackay, Dunn came through the Cowboys Academy program before graduating to the NYC program where he was named captain in 2017.
He made his NRL debut in 2018 and would go on to make 58 appearances over the course of six seasons before retiring due to ongoing injury issues at the end of the 2023 season.
Dunn spent his final two playing seasons as a member of the Cowboys Leadership Group.
“This is a really pleasing announcement for our club. Mitch is a home-grown kid who has been a part of our club since his early teens,” Cowboys General Manager of Football Micheal Luck said.
“He was a gifted player with a skillset very few others possess, but his best asset on the field was his footballing brain and his knowledge of the game, which is what he will be able to harness and pass on in this role.
“We identified a gap in our program where we believed the coaches mentoring the young players coming into our systems were lacking development opportunities.
“Mitch will be tasked with passing on knowledge and techniques we use day to day here at the Cowboys on to the wider North Queensland rugby league community.”
