FNQRL 2024: Atherton signs Joel Riethmuller as new coach

Former Cowboys lock and Northern Pride premiership winner Joel Riethmuller formalised his role as coach for 2024, and has hit the ground running to rebuild the Roosters into a potential premiership force by recruiting several quality players.

Riethmuller proved he could still play throughout this season, and while the plan is for his boots to remain hung up, his vast experience and knowledge of the game will be crucial to Atherton turning the tide.

Atherton president Paul Pensini said he planted the seed early with Riethmuller, who was part of the Pride’s 2014 Queensland Cup premiership team.

“I reached out to him early to get a gauge on what he was doing …. And he gave us the nod at the end of the season,” Pensini said.

“The guys are the club are excited that he’s staying.

“He doesn’t have anything to prove in the game here but he was still going out and playing at a good level.

“He set a standard with the boys in terms of the commitment required.

“He’ll be on the sideline next season, he’s just coaching at this point, and we’re thankful to him and his family for taking on the role.

“He’s a terrific fella, and we’re thankful and appreciative of what he’s done for the club.”

Wins eluded a tough Roosters outfit throughout the year, enjoying just three wins and a draw in what was a long and largely unlucky campaign over the hill.

The departure of Graham Clark Snr during pre-season and a lack of registered players which almost forced the club to withdraw from the A-grade competition meant they started the season well behind the eight-ball.

Nathan Curcio stepped up as a player-coach, putting up his hand to help the embattled club he loved survive and continue to feature in the FNQRL.

Atherton put together a solid side with some experience A-graders, with the inclusion of Riethmuller and former Cowboys bookend Scott Bolton bringing starch to a pack which grew in confidence.

They lost six games by seven points or less in a sign of the resolve of the team.

Much of that was driven by Riethmuller, who used every bit of his experience to galvanise the players into a squad which wouldn’t lie down.

And while they were well beaten by grand final teams Innisfail and Brothers, they took the Sharks’ scalp in the last round and went within a try of post-season sides Ivanhoes and Kangaroos late in the run to the finals.

Riethmuller’s deep network of connections, along with those he has already signed for 2024, will help to attract plenty of quality as the Roosters spy an end to their premiership drought.

Atherton has won two A-grade premierships in this competition, going back-to-back in 1993-94, and have lost five grand finals since they joined the CDRL (now the FNQRL).

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Their last grand final appearance was in 2009, when the Raiders agreed to release then-troubled NRL star Todd Carney to the Roosters to play out the year.

Carney led them to the grand final, where they lost to Brothers, before he returned to the NRL via the Roosters in 2010 and won the Dally M Medal.

matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au

Originally published as FNQRL 2024: Atherton signs Joel Riethmuller as new coach