After missing the finals again in 2017, Eastern Suburbs have appointed their third coach in three years with colts mentor Pauli Taumoepeau set to take the reigns in 2018.

The Beasties will return to Woollahra Oval after what can only be described as a disastrous season both on and off the field last year and want to play finals footy in 2018 after several seasons of rebuilding.

Overview with Pauli Taumoepeau:

“I’ve been happy with our preseason. Obviously with a new coach, we have had to fit a bit more into our preseason because it’s not the same as last year but I’ve been happy with the detail we’ve gotten through,” Taumoepeau said.

“We played Warringah in our first trial and were beaten and that gave us a good snapshot of where are were at, then we beat Sydney Uni.

“I’d like to try and coach to my strengths this year and I think I’ve recruited to ensure that we’re strong in certain areas. Fortunately, I’ve been around the club for a while now so I haven’t had to start from scratch with a lot of the players. I haven’t had to spend as much time with some of the guys that I’ve already coached because I know what to expect from a lot of them and they know what to expect from me.

“I didn’t get a chance to watch first grade last year so I went back and watched some of the tapes and I think game management really cost us. Mack Mason was in his first season at the club and he was only training with us once a week, then a lot of the guys around him were playing their first year out of colts, so there was always going to be a few teething issues there. I think if we can fix our game management, we’ll be alright.

“I’m not really sure how to describe my style of coaching. It’s not overly structured but it’s not overly free, I’d like to think it’s somewhere in the middle. I think you need to have a system in place, but you also need to be able to stray away from it when necessary.

“The rebuilding stage at Easts is well and truly over. We’ve been building for quite a while now and I think it’s time we start getting results. We’re not talking about the rebuild anymore, we’re talking about winning. Morro and DC have done enough groundwork over the past few years, so now we’re looking to take that next step this year.

“It’s great to be back at Woollahra Oval. I’m happy for the boys to have the ground back but at the end of the day, it’s a mental thing. I still think we need to be mentally stronger as a club but I’m happy that the guys get to experience playing at home at Woollahra. Regardless though, our goal doesn’t change whether we’re playing at Woollahra or playing at Centennial Park, we want to win the competition.”

2017 result: 9th (6 wins, 11 losses)

Ins: Connell McInerney (Canberra), Dean Oakmont-Hunt (Canberra), Ofa Fainga’anuku (France), Larry Hermans (Northern Suburbs), Mark Lee (Japan), Tom Staniforth (Brumbies).

Outs: Fergus Lee Warner (Western Force), Tom Merritt (sabbatical), Steve Longwell (Scotland), Cam Fenton (Scotland),

Key areas of improvement:

“Game management is the big one and it’s everyone, not just Mack Mason (No.10) and Jack Grant (No.9). We need to be smarter and know when and where to run certain moves, what area of the lineout to target, when to speed the game up and when to slow it down,” Taumoepeau continued.

“I think that’s the area we can improve the most. We need to work out what out strengths are with five minutes to go so that we can close matches out. We’ve spent a lot of time going through different scenarios, put guys on the spot and asked them why they made certain decisions.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“The usual guys. Rowan Perry, Tim Buchanan. I think they’ll have big years. I also think Jack Digby will be one to watch. He played at Grammar and played first colts, then spent time between first and second grade last year. He’s had a fantastic preseason and he’s playing above our expectations in the second row or the back row.

“We lost Fergus Lee Warner to the Force and he provided a lot of our grunt. I didn’t think we had anyone that could replace him but Jack has really stepped up to the plate. He’s got a good carry, he’s still throwing a few too many offloads, but that will improve with more game time.

“Sam Fogarty will play at No.13 or on the wing for us and he’s also been going really well.”

Hopes and expectations for the season: 

“We’ve got to win it. Our hope is to win the competition, so then all our expectations have to align to that. We need to be consistent and continue to improve through the year and if we do that, there is no reason or excuse why we can’t do very well in this competition.

“We’ve also got an eye on the Club Championship. We’ve got 140 players in grade and we’ve had 5th and 6th grade matches already. With that sort of depth, you’d like to think we can give that a good crack.”

Who will Easts play in the grand final?

“Rats!”

“I just think they’ve got a powerful scrum, they’ve retained most of their side from last year and it just seemed like they were three or four weeks ahead of everyone else when we played them in that trial. I don’t know if we were really bad, but it was eye opening. I think they’ve got a harder edge to them this year as well and they’re very fit. After our trial, they went and ran five 50 metre sprints.

“They’re really well coached and I think DC has recruited well so they’re going to be very tough to beat.

“I think Sydney Uni will have a really good year as well. I’ve got a lot of time for Rob Taylor, I think he’s a very good coach and I think he’ll be a bit of a breath of fresh air at the club in the best possible way.”