Sunnybank started the 2021 season by upsetting defending premiers Easts in round one but were unable to replicate that performance consistently throughout the year.

The Dragons showed glimpses of their best, but have a lot of work to do ahead of 2022 according to head coach Sione Fukofuka.

2021: 8th (3 wins, 11 losses)

Overview with Sione Fukofuka:

“For us, it was a really frustrating season. We’ve already done a pretty comprehensive review and it was tough to look at because we started the year so well, had a bit of resurgence in the middle of the year when we won two straight and then just fell away at the end,” Fukofuka told Rugby News.

“We never really recovered from the loss to UQ. We were right in the hunt at half time of that game but they just blew us away in that second half. Credit to them, they’re a really good football side but we just struggled to bounce back from that.”

“When we played well, our set piece was functioning really well and we were giving our backs good front foot ball. We were challenging defences, holding the ball for multiple phases and picking our options really well to be fair. Our kick return was also working well, our defence was creating pressure and that gave us opportunities to play. 

“When thing’s weren’t going well, we weren’t getting clean set piece ball which put our first phase attack under pressure. 

“The ball we were getting was from turnovers or from kicks so we were playing a lot of unstructured footy off the back of that. That meant that there was a lot of pressure to hold the ball and use it and at times we weren’t great at that. 

“Defensively, we also weren’t great this year. Teams were smart enough to realise that if they kicked in behind us and put us under pressure in our own half, then we struggled to defend past four or five phases. 

“It’s certainly not an excuse, but the draw made things tough this year. We played four games consecutively against the top four and although that’s part and parcel of Premier Rugby, the two games that we targeted to turn things around were the two games that ended up being cancelled. 

“That was frustrating, but that’s Covid and there’s nothing we could do about it.”

What needs to happen at the club between now and round one next year? 

“For us, we’ve got a whole club focus. Our review involved the entire club, not just Premier Grade and looked at all facets of the program. 

“Ben Armstrong is coming from Ireland to take on the General Managers role and that’s going to be really positive. 

“We’re going to start a ground up rebuild. We’ve got Brenden Underwood coming in to coach colts and there will be some other movement in the coaching ranks. 

“We want to have a really clear focus as a club. It might take a year or two, maybe even longer to get back to where we want to be but it’s something that needs to be done. 

“A big part of that is identifying the areas we need to improve in and recruitment and development of our players are two big focusses. 

“We then need our entire coaching staff to upskill to be a part of that.”

Which of your players do you think could have a breakout season next year? 

“I’m hoping Josh Fenner can remain fit and healthy next year. He looked really good in round one but then missed the next nine weeks through injury. 

“I felt for him because then he spent the four or five games he played at the end of the year trying to regain his match fitness and catch up with the other guys that had been playing all year. 

“I’m really excited about what Josh can bring to our side, particularly around the lineout. 

“Lloyd Gorman is another player that had a great year in around the set piece and scrum. He was fit and healthy all year and competed really well against some of the more recognised props in the competition. 

“In the backs, Liam McNamara was fantastic for us and we hope he’ll continue to be.

“I’d like to think the first two can step up and become dominant Premier Rugby players and Liam can continue to do so.”

What do you hope we’ll be talking about at this time next year? 

“Hopefully we’ll be talking the rebuild occurring at Sunnybank and that we’re on track to get back to where we want to be. 

“We’d like to be in the hunt for a top five position. We know we’ll be up against it with a young squad but we want to be pushing for those mid table spots. 

“If things go our way, we certainly think that’s possible.”