His professional career took off in 2003 with acceptance to the High Performance Program at the Queensland Academy of Sport.
In 2006 Mooney coached the Australian Under 19 team winning the Junior World Cup against New Zealand (17-13) in the UAE.
[1] Mooney claimed the new young players were the future and his time in the role of rebuilding the team was cut short.
At the end of 2009 he worked for rugby league team the Brisbane Broncos as a specialist skills coach.
In 2013 he moved to Japan and coached the Panasonic Wild Knights and won the Top League and also the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship.
In 2014 Mooney was assistant coach at Panasonic with Robbie Deans and again won another Top League title.