In 2018 Souths surged back into the QLD Premier Rugby finals, a positive step forward that helped them put a lowly seventh finish from the year before behind them.

But there was still disappointment as they fell 25-17 to Easts in the minor semi-final, and were eliminated from the title race as a result.

That disappointment will serve as motivation for the new-look Magpies in 2019, although they’ll be contending with the loss of former Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper in their bid for glory. 

Overview with Elia Tuqiri:

“Last season was a much-improved year after 2017 and it was an exciting year too, having a couple of high-profile names among the group,” Souths head coach Elia Tuqiri told Rugby News.

“It was a great achievement to make the semi-finals but there was still a bit of disappointment because we did have the belief we could’ve gone a bit further. Easts really put pressure on our set-piece in that semi-final and, really, we just struggled to get out of our own half.

“For the majority of the season we did really well to exit and play from our own end and maybe we panicked a little bit, and Easts capitalised on our mistakes. 

“Like every club we’re training hard … and there’s a good buzz around the group (heading into round one), we’d like to think we’ve learned from last year’s disappointment in the semi-finals.

“We’ve lost quite a few guys and we’re excited to see some of them come through the program and go on to bigger and better things, and that’s let us recruit some exciting young players too.

“We did have a few injuries in that semi-final too so making sure we’ve got enough depth to cover us for the entire year, the whole season, especially up front (has been a priority).

“We’ll have a lot of depth in our colts with three teams, (colts head coach) Todd (Dammers) has done a great job there and last year [the top side] made the finals after coming last in 2017, so we’re really happy with that progress.

“I’m not sure if we’ve had a women’s XV-a-side team in the past, last year we were just in the sevens, but we’re going to be involved in that this year which is really exciting for the club too.”

2018: Fourth (lost minor semi-final 25-17 to Easts).

Ins: Sean Farrell (University of QLD), Jake Strachan (Sunnybank), Scott Malolua (Queensland Reds).

Outs: Quade Cooper (Melbourne Rebels), Tautalatasi Tasi (Melbourne Rebels), Karmichael Hunt (NSW Waratahs), Jack Farrell (ACT Brumbies), Richard Kingi (retired), Sam Von Blanckensee (Canberra).

Key areas of improvement:

“You need a strong set-piece and every team focuses on that (but) our defence (mainly),” Tuqiri said.

“Everyone knows us as more of an attacking side and we’ve definitely got a lot of tries in us but we just leaked a few too many last year as well.

“That probably is more of an attitude thing than anything, so there’s been a big focus on working harder off the ball and that sort of thing.

“And then making good decisions in key moments too.”

Player(s) to watch:

“Definitely Jake Strachan, he’s come from Sunnybank and I rate him as a very good fly-half,” Tuqiri said.

“Scotty Malolua has come back to the club in really good form and has been taking a real leadership role as well.

“Jayden Ngamanu has been with the Reds over the last couple of years and he’ll captain our side this year and he’ll also bring a lot to the club being with us full-time this year.”

Hopes and expectations for the year:

“I’d be lying if I said [a premiership] wasn’t the goal,” Tuqiri said.

“I think we’ve got the players to go all the way. Every club thinks they’re going pretty well in the pre-season but I suppose we’ll wait until Saturday and see.”

Who will Souths play in the grand final:

“Jeeps, no doubt,” Tuqiri said.

“They’ve obviously just knocked off the Shute Shield champions on the weekend which is a massive achievement and they looked very good. 

“They’re a very well-coached side and they’re definitely the benchmark so, if we find ourselves there I believe we’ll be playing them.”