Taipans announce TAG Head Coach

Ahead of the inaugural Taipans Academy – Girls ("TAG") commencing next week, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans welcome WNBL life member and three-time champion Samantha Woosnam as Head Coach of the new initiative, set to promote girls’ involvement in sport across Cairns.  

Woosnam will make the move to Far North Queensland for the duration of the Academy, leading the delivery of sessions in high schools throughout October and November. The aspiring NBL coach will also take the opportunity to work with Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde and his staff for Cairns’ games, as well as the front office and CQUniversity High Performance staff.

Woosnam acknowledges TAG is a brilliant opportunity for girls and women in sports, herself included.

"I'm so excited to be heading to Cairns to lead the Taipan's Academy – Girls. I’m looking forward to fostering girls' participation in basketball, instilling confidence and creating a space and community where every girl can shine on and off the court,” she said.

“This will also provide me with the opportunity to be part of a NBL club and work with Fordey, who is someone I’ve admired as a coach for a long time. I’m expecting to learn a lot from him, and it’ll be great to be part of the Taipans organisation.” 

The NBL1 South Head Coach is originally from Mildura and started her professional basketball career in 1997 with the Adelaide Lightning after attending the AIS.

She spent three seasons in South Australia, winning a WNBL Championship in 1998 and a Junior World Championship silver medal, before relocating to Europe to compete across Austria, Germany, France and Portugal.

Reuniting with the Lightning in 2004 as captain, she joined a club that would go on to be undefeated during the 2007-08 regular season – later winning the WNBL Championship.

After wrapping up her respected playing career winning another WNBL Championship with Dandenong in 2012 – with 1698 points and 1002 rebounds across 224 games in the league – the WNBL life member moved into the coaching world.

Leading Kilsyth in the SEABL competition as the Head Coach of the Lady Cobras from 2014 (and crossing paths with a young Kyle Adnam) – Woosnam steered her squad to consecutive conference championships across 2015-2016 and was named SEABL Coach of the Year and Basketball Victoria Coach of the Year in 2016.

Continuing to run the Cobra Women’s program when they joined the NBL1 in 2019, she guided Kilsyth to the inaugural NBL1 Women’s Championship and was again named Basketball Victoria Coach of the Year in 2019.

Leaving the Cobras in 2020 with a 102-32 record as Head Coach, Woosnam stepped into the role of Head of Basketball at Yarra Valley Grammar and moved into the Head Assistant role with the Dandenong Rangers NBL1 Men’s team.

She took over the Dandenong Men’s program the following season and improved a 4-18 club to 13-9 in her second season – taking them to the playoffs for the first time since 2019 (with Taipans nominated injury replacement player Tad Dufelmeier on the roster).

The Taipans Academy – Girls was announced in August, alongside Minister for Tourism and Sport Michael Healy, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Curtis Pitt and the NBL Chief Executive Officer Dave Stevenson on behalf of NBL Assists.

Taipans Academy – Girls is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.