Bond University have lost a handful of key players and have been dealt a nightmare opening month of the QLD Premier Rugby season, but incoming head coach Brad Harris is still certain his side can finally make a long-awaited return to the finals.

They went agonisingly close to doing so in 2018, but a sluggish start in which Bond won just one game through the opening six weeks proved costly. They were, arguably, the form side of the competition in the back half though, which brings belief into 2019.

Overview with Brad Harris:

“We were a bit slow out of the blocks but we finished the season really strongly (in 2018) and I think that does highlight some learnings we can put into practice,” Harris said.

“The finish to the season does also give the players a lot of belief and they know they’re capable at this level, they have the understanding that they are capable of being at the top of Queensland Premier Rugby.

“We’ve had a turnover of about half the group … but we’ve tried to be quite proactive with recruitment and we’ve got new coaches coming in, so we haven’t changed the way we play dramatically but there’s a few things we’ve adjusted.

“As with any year the pre-season’s about physical preparation and then installing our systems on top of that but for me, being an incoming coach, building relationships with senior players has been a big focus for the pre-season.

“We’re shaping up well in colts, (former director of rugby) Sean Hedger did some great recruiting there and we’ve got a number of Australian Schoolboys in that group with [John Eales Scholarship recipients Matt Minogue, Spencer Jeans and Jack Winchester] coming in 2019 and that’s really exciting for the club.

“We’ve got a good, young coaching group down there too that are really keen to develop as coaches too so, overall, the club’s in pretty good shape.”

2018: Fifth.

Ins: Connor Pritchard (Gold Coast), Nuku Swerling (France), Paula Kaho (West Harbour).

Outs: Salesi Manu (retired), Eddie Aholele (retired), Hayden Sargeant (Sunnybank), Joel Brown (Sunnybank).


Key areas of improvement:

“We need to start the season better obviously and we’ve spoken about that,” Harris said.

“Losing props Salesi and Eddie, we’re putting a bit focus on the scrum too. When you look at Jeeps last year, they obviously won the premiership and will it wasn’t solely on the back of a dominant scrum it certainly plays a big part of it, so we understand how important that is.

“We’ve still got Will Slipper there … and we’re pretty happy with where are in terms of the front-row stocks, we’re hoping to see a lot of Gav Luka this season and that’d be really good for his development too.”

Player(s) to watch:

“Connor Pritchard has played international rugby for Zimbabwe so that’s good and he’s actually been playing with a local Gold Coast team,” Harris said.

“I think that’s proof there’s a really good pathway in place there for guys who come to the region, even if they don’t come to us straight away there’s a pathway to Queensland Premier Rugby and then hopefully professional rugby.

“He’s a hard, on-ball No.7, a really good defender and a genuine lineout option. He’s just a really good kid and he’s really keen to develop and learn. Hopefully he stays healthy and he can have a big season.”

Hopes and expectations for the year:

“We’ve certainly spoken about finals footy but to be honest we’ve only really looked at the first four weeks, we’ve got a really tough draw,” Harris said.

“We’ve got Brothers, UQ, Jeeps and Easts, you know, the two grand finalists in the first four games, Easts were beaten [in the preliminary final] and Brothers who made it in every grade outside of first grade last year.

“So we’re putting a big focus on those first four games and then we’ll draw breath and reassess but we’re not shying away from the fact we want to be playing finals football.”

Who will Bond play in the grand final:

“Looking at last year, you have to say Jeeps,” Harris said.

“They’re coming off a really good win over Sydney University last weekend and they’ve retained the nucleus of their squad, so I think they have to be considered the standout at this stage.”