After falling just short of claiming back to back Shute Shield premierships, Norths coach Simon Cron and a number of his stars have picked up contracts at the Waratahs.

While there will be a few new faces at North Sydney Oval this year, former Randwick coach Shannon Fraser has inherited one of the most experienced and talented, albeit new look, squads in the competition and expectations for the Shoreman are as high as ever.

Overview with Shannon Fraser:

“It’s been really good. It’s been a learning curve obviously, coming into a system that has had tremendous success over the last few years. It’s been a different approach but it’s been great to be able to build on all the things that are going well, then work on a few little things and a few little moments in games where there are opportunities to improve and evolve,” Fraser told Rugby News.

“Expectations at the club are really high, which is good, my expectations of myself are really high. It’s a different experience because generally to come into a group that has been underperforming and you have the ability to make some really easy changes or do some simple things that get results.

“Coming into a group that has been going very well, they’ve evolved as a group themselves over the last few years under Cronny and the senior playing group, so it’s challenging to come into that but I’ve really enjoyed it and I’ve learnt a lot about myself and about coaching over the last few months.

“Any time you come into a system you’ve got to spend a period of time watching, learning and listening and I did that through to Christmas. Then it’s about finding a few small parts of the game that we can evolve and improve to compliment what the side and the club does well. Working alongside the senior players at the club and the administration, it’s been a pretty seamless process to be fair.

“The way Norths have used the ball in recent years has been really good and suited the way the game has been managed during that period but the game is evolving and the way that the officials will manage the tackle area will change this year. I think we’ll put a little more onus on keeping the ball and using it and we’ve looked at ways to evolve around the tackle area. I think there will less opportunity for the opposition to contest the ball so we need to be smart there because that will create a greater emphasis on defence.

“We’ve also had some personnel changes at the club so we’ve had to adapt the way we play to suit the current group that we’ve got.

“I think it’s a compliment to the club and the program that so many Norths players have been recognised and have got opportunities at the next level. Everyone is extremely proud of them but how we integrate those guys back into the system at different times will be an important element of our season. It’s an exciting prospect to get those players back but at the same time we want to see them playing as much Super Rugby as possible. If we get them back, well then that’s a bonus.”

2017 result: Grand finalists

Ins: Nathan Russell (UQ), Angelo Leaupepe (Melbourne Rising), Patrick Taufa (QLD U20s), Sam Gilltrap (Canberra Vikings), JP Sauni (New Zealand), David Henaway (Brothers).

Outs: Con Foley (UQ), Stephan van der Walt (Japan), Alain Miriallkis (Newcastle), Augey Slowik (UK).

Key areas of improvement:

“Set piece is always important, we want to gain quality possession off the back of our set piece and that’s something we’ve been working really hard on. Our ball usage is another one, we want to be able to build pressure on the opposition while we’ve got the ball so we’ve been working really hard on our accuracy and on the way we use the ball and where and how we use it.

“In defence, we’ve worked hard on our tackle and cleaning up that area to assimilate to those new interpretations around the tackle area.”

“They’re all pretty generic areas but I think we can push pretty hard if we can get some of that right.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“Sam Giltrap has come up from Canberra, he’s a fullback and has been playing with lots of confidence throughout the trials. He’s a really smart footballer and knows when to inject himself into the game. He’s someone who will continue to improve,” Fraser said.

“Then guys like Nathan Russell, Angelo Leaupepe and Pat Taufa. When they immerse themselves into the system for a bit longer, they’re going to see some massive gains throughout the season and I’m excited to see what those three can do.

“I’m also really looking forward to watching Harry Burey and Hugh Sinclair play this season. I think they’re both two of the most underrated players in the Shute Shield and they’ve been in fantastic form over the past 12 months. They’ve both looked really good in the preseason.

“Nick Duffy has gained some experience for the Waratahs and will only benefit from that. Connor Vest has also been looking really good.”

Hopes and expectations for the season:

“Nothing short of a premiership is good enough. We’re pushing ourselves to win the comp and we’ve been there the last two years so the guys know what the challenges are in getting there.

I think anything less than that and we’ve underperformed.

“We know that as a group and we’re embracing it, we’re not fearful of that at all, that’s just the landscape at the moment for us as a club. We want to bring that trophy home.”

Who will Norths play in the grand final?

“It doesn’t matter. We control our own destiny and how other teams deal with pressure throughout the season is completely up to them. We’ll be there and I really don’t care who stands opposite us.

“Based on trial trial, you’d have to say Warringah and Souths are the two teams that have the experience to push to the point end of the season but it could be one of any of the other sides. It’s a new year and there are a lot of expectations at all 12 clubs. We know that there will be 15 guys facing us on grand final day but we don’t care who it is.”