SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, MANLY, WARRINGAH & WEST HARBOUR

by Paul Cook –

Part Two of our Season Preview looks at last year’s runners-up, Souths, as well as introducing three new coaches to the Shute Shield in 2015, Damien Cummins (Manly); Greg Marr (Warringah) and Joe Barakat (West Harbour)…

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SOUTHERN DISTRICTS with Matt Barr

Last Season’s Ladder Placing: 5th – 50pts (Runners-Up)

Ins: Max Holland (NZ); Sam Lousi (Waratahs); Dewet Roos (returning from injury); Jordan McGregor (returning from injury); Fili Tufui (NZ); Waldo Wessels (returning from injury)

Outs: Duncan Chubb; Tim Metcher

Captain: Jed Holloway

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Having played the role of assistant in his rugby coaching career to that point, there were plenty of eyes on Matt Barr as he took his fledgling steps as a head coach at Southern Districts last season. When the Rebels lost their first three matches, two in front of the home faithful, the knives were already being sharpened. But despite what he would concede was a topsy-turvy regular season, he and his exciting team stood up to be counted at the pointy end of the year, defeating both Eastwood and Sydney University on their own grounds to reach only the club’s second ever Shute Shield Grand Final, before they eventually fell to a Woodies side desperate for vengeance. Player retention has been to the fore in the off-season and if they can get some of their big guns on board for most of the year, expect the boys from the Shire to go pretty close in 2015…

Overview:
“Last year was certainly an up and down year for us. Whilst we finished really strongly and unfortunately fell just that one game short, we grew a lot as a team and certainly, as a club, and that achievement gives us a lot of confidence coming into this year. At times last year, the position we were in allowed us to sneak in under the radar a little bit but I think this time around, every weekend teams know they are playing a Grand Finalist when they play us and I think that means that they come out that little bit harder and will be ready for us a bit more, which will make it that bit tougher this time out. On a personal level, being a head coach is probably something I had some self doubt over, but with the help and support of Jim Williams and my coaching team, conquering those challenges that we faced throughout the year and the adversity that we overcame to get to where we ended up, gave me a lot of self confidence, satisfaction and experience moving forward.”

Key Areas of Improvement?
“Consistency. We dropped our first three games last year, won our next four or five straight then went through a long period of ups and downs that put us in that position where we had to win all those games at the back end to catch up, so consistency of performance is a big focus. We’ve still got some work to do to improve on our set-piece. Our scrum was obviously very good with Tim Metcher and Duncan Chubb but those two guys have moved on and we’ve got some young guys coming in so we need to really make sure we’re laying a good platform at set-piece, which is probably one of those areas in the Grand Final that was a point of difference.”

Hopes/expectations for the Rebels in 2015?
“We’ve set very high standards for a number of years at Souths, so expectations are very high. We’re really excited, we just need to continue working hard on our structures and keep improving as a team. If we can do that, we’re confident that we can compete amongst the top four clubs again and if we’re in and around the mix come the end of the season and can time it right again, I’m sure that we can give it a crack like we did last year.”

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MANLY with Damien Cummins

Last Season’s Ladder Placing: Minor Premiers – 80pts (Semi-Finals)

Ins: Sam Croke (Norths); Tim Donlan (Randwick); Vance Elliott (NZ); Dennis Pili-Gaitau (NZ);

Outs: Tim Fairbrother (retired); Mali Hingano; Matt Lucas; Greg Peterson; Brian Sefanaia; Mark Swanepoel

Captain: Kotoni Ale

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It was the same old story for Manly last year – always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Having dominated the regular season to finish as Minor Premiers, the Marlins fell one week short of the Grand Final for the fourth year in a row, keeping their legion of supporters waiting yet again for an invitation to the big dance and a shot at their first title since 1997. Having worked as no.2 to both Tim Lane and Phil Blake over those last four years, new head coach Damien Cummins certainly shares that frustration as he prepares to embark on his first year in the hot seat. Having won it as a player in ’97, could he be the one to take them one step further and achieve a unique double?

Overview:
“Being a head coach has taken some getting used to but I’m really enjoying it. I actually get to spend the day thinking about something I love and doing something I’m very passionate about. Figuring out how things work and coming to terms with the fact that I’m now the one making the decisions has been a big learning curve but now I feel like everything is going really well and I’m feeling confident about the new season. We’ve lost a few players so you’ve got to try and see what strengths you’ve got but you lose players, you pick players up and guys fill in spots and to be honest, I think we’re as good, if not better, than we have been. Maybe that’s just me looking at it through rose tinted glasses but that’s how I feel and I think the vibe around the club is a positive one right now and things are going pretty well. Ask me again after six rounds!”

Key Areas of Improvement:
“They say that you can’t worry about what’s happened in other years but there is an obvious repeat with Manly when it comes to finals time. There are probably a few things that we looked at from last year and thought ‘Maybe that was the wrong way to do that’ and we’ve been trying to identify them and make sure that we’re not doing the same things again. I think we averaged over 40pts per game last year so it’s not a lack of quality, I just think we’ve lacked the belief or the feeling that we deserve to be there once we get within sight of a Grand Final and it would certainly be a big target for our season if we could get to that point again and go one step further.”

Hopes/expectations for the Marlins in 2015?
“Make the Grand Final. Period.”

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WARRINGAH with Greg Marr

Last Season’s Ladder Placing: 4th – 61pts (Qualifying-Finals)

Ins: Manasseh Alaga (NZ); James Cunningham (Norths)

Outs: Richard Southern

Captain: Luke Holmes

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A fourth place finish, while playing arguably the most attractive rugby in the competition, left Warringah and their supporters champing at the bit in the off-season to see just how far this blossoming young side could go under the direction of coach Haig Sare. However, continuity suffered a setback just a month ago with Sare stepping away from the role for family reasons and leaving the Rats precious little time to find a replacement. Up stepped Warringah’s Sevens coach, Greg Marr. A former Shute Shield coach with Manly and Sydney University, as well as an integral part of the foundation Western Force management team, Marr is not averse to working in challenging conditions, having also crewed in the America’s Cup onboard Kookaburra III in 1987. He can’t wait to get the season underway…

Overview:
“It’s going pretty well at the moment. Last year the team went well so I don’t think we need to come in and make sweeping changes or completely change the whole program. I know the players and they’re fairly comfortable with where we’re going so we won’t tinker too much and then, as we all get to know each other a bit better, maybe we can start to tweak a few things. It’s a work in progress. In terms of being underdone because of the late change, we’re possibly a couple of weeks behind but with the team we’ve got and having virtually the same backline as last year, I’m pretty comfortable with where we’re at. I’ve got Mark Gerrard helping me who is a fantastic asset and Michael Lipman, who did a great job with Haig last year so two good co-coaches and between the three of us, with our work commitments and professional rugby commitments, we’re going to make a go of it, hopefully successfully!”

Key Areas of Improvement?
“I’m excited about the prospects of our new front row but we need to increase the depth in the tight five and that’s a process that we’re going through. But in saying that, we’ve got a competition starting on Saturday so I need to be focusing on that right now rather than chasing a few people around town. We’ve got a talented backline which is exciting to watch and fun to coach but you’ve got to give them the ball and you’ve got to give them the right ball so that they’re going forward off a strong platform rather than receiving it on the backfoot. However, whilst it’s good to watch, if you’ve got a good defensive structure, it can be easy to play against because you can push it side to side so we’ve got to be able to adapt to different defensive structures. We played a little bit too much of one style last year.”

New Sensations:
“Tim Poynton and Jack Hayson – A couple of young guys who have come to the club who I think are future first graders and will get a run at some point during the season.”

Hopes/expectations for the Rats in 2015?
“I would hope that we continue to move forward – I don’t want to go backwards. We got all four teams in the grade finals last year which is the first time that’s happened in a long time, so I’ll be disappointed if that didn’t happen again this year. Also, we all play rugby for fun and it’s important to keep that to the forefront. If the players aren’t enjoying it then I’m not doing my job.”

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WEST HARBOUR with Joe Barakat

Last Season’s Ladder Placing: 8th – 40pts

Ins: Alfred Pinomi (Randwick); Liam Windon (returns from overseas in May)

Outs: Ryan Dalziel

Captain: Tom Games

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Traditionally one of the entertainers of the competition, West Harbour have also added some serious starch to their pack over the last couple of years. But an impressive 5th place finish in 2013 proved to be a false dawn as defensive frailties and inconsistency returned last season, dropping them three places to 8th. Tasked with lifting the Pirates back into finals contention is the highly credentialed Joe Barakat, who returns to Concord Oval as Director of Rugby, 10 years after his last stint in charge. The former Waratahs and Fiji assistant coach has just returned from a hugely successful stint in Japan but while his prowess will only see him in the Wests job until June, when a lucrative offer from Irish team Ulster will lure him North, he has spent the off-season on full throttle, working alongside new 1st Grade head coach Mark Gudmundson as they try to lay the platform for a side Barakat believes has bags of potential…

Overview:
“I did intend to come home for a longer term this time but the West Harbour board understood that I couldn’t knock the opportunity in Ireland back. But I said to them that I’m not even thinking about Ulster now, I’ve got four months here at what has been a pretty important club for me and one that has always had good footballers but always underachieved. I want to help change that. I’m doing things very differently but it’s going to help the players be successful and highlight their skills and I think they find it exciting and challenging. I’m looking forward to seeing how they go. I start with a clean slate and I’m just going to give guys an opportunity. Guys who are prepared to be hard and have a strong mentality, I’m going to pick them because those are the guys who will do what I ask them to do and put their bodies on the line. They weren’t as successful as they would have liked to have been last year and if you continue to do the same thing, you’re going to continue to get the same result. I won’t be doing the same things.”

Key Areas of Improvement:
“Part of my job here is looking after defence so it’s been a real priority and we’ve spoken about our philosophy and what we want to achieve. It’s not about protecting our line, defence is about turning the ball over and when we change that mentality, it changes the way we play. We’re going to be quite deliberate with what we’re going to do with the ball but we’re not going to be pushing passes, we’re not going to be turning ball over on the third phase every time we carry and then have to chase it and then give our opponents the upper hand because we were just too lazy to finish the job. We’re going to be more disciplined and the guys we pick are going to be the ones who are able to cope with that level of discipline in the way we want to play.”

New Sensation:
“Ben James – He’s the son of former West Harbour and Wallaby five-eighth Stephen James who’s returning from overseas. With Dave Harvey out for a couple of months with injury, he could prove to be a really important player for us.”

Hopes/expectations for the Pirates in 2015?
“I believe we are good enough to make the finals. I don’t think we’ll be high up in the finals but I think we’ll win more games than we’ll lose. There is no reason we can’t finish fifth, anything else is a bonus.”