The New Zealand Warriors club are undergoing a shake-up, including changes within the coaching ranks, following a dismal NRL season.

The club's chief executive Wayne Scurrah said a review of the 2009 season, which ended with the Warriors near the bottom of the ladder in 14th place, had led to a string of new appointments.

"We looked at a number of clubs to see how they ran their football operations and it became clear to us that we needed to change our football structure to put us on the same footing," Scurrah said.

Changes will involve key staff with the club's NRL and development squads taking up wider-ranging positions.

It includes a coaching switch, with Warriors head coach Ivan Cleary's assistant of four seasons, John Ackland, moving to the Junior Warriors to become head coach in a swap with Tony Iro.

Ackland will continue to provide assistance to the NRL side.

Foundation club captain Dean Bell moves out of his job as Junior Warriors football manager to become recruitment and development manager while also filling another newly-created role of NRL team manager.

Don Mann, previously the Warriors' football manager, becomes football operations manager, overseeing all performance, medical and welfare aspects of the NRL, NYC and development squads.

Warriors strength and conditioning coach Craig Walker becomes high performance manager, heading the club's entire team of trainers.

Warriors physiotherapist Jude Spiers becomes medical services manager covering all three squads.

Scurrah said the changes were aimed at delivering improvements for the 2010 season.

"We are all committed to working harder than ever before to bring our club up to the level we expect and the changes we have made give us the ideal foundation to deliver the improvements needed to be consistently competitive."

Scurrah said it was important to streamline and integrate the club's football department, which had in the past run involved running the squads separately.

"These changes give us clarity and provide us with the best possible chance of delivering optimum support and resources for the preparation of our NRL and NYC sides," he said.

In addition to the positions announced last night, Scurrah said other positions had been created and further appointments were likely soon.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP