Randwick came within seconds of an upset victory over Gordon that would have shaken up last year’s finals series drastically.

But the Highlanders were good enough to scrap out a win on the opening weekend of the playoffs, ending the Wicks’ season just as it felt like it was starting to get going.

Overview with Ben McCormack:

“Things aren’t looking too bad at the moment, we’re ticking along. We’re not jumping up and down but we’re certainly not displeased either,” McCormack told Rugby News.

“We were really disappointed with the way we finished last season. To lose the way we did against a side that went on to win the competition, it really hurt. 

“We thought we’d done enough and when you’re winning with two minutes to play, you should close those games out but we weren’t able to on that occasion unfortunately. 

“We started the season really well, then had a few little hiccups through the middle of the season but there weren’t many games, besides a loss to Gordon and Easts, where we were out of it. 

“We felt we had all the attributes to do something at the end of the season but it didn’t quite pan out that way. 

“We’ve lost quite a few from last season, but that’s what should be happening at good Shute Shield clubs. We want our guys to move on to higher honours and when they do, we need to regenerate.

“We’ve had eight players from the starting side from the finals last year move on but the good thing is they are all moving on to professional contracts, not moving to other clubs, so that’s great to see. 

“The pressure is always on at Randwick. I’m not in it to run second and never have been. Whether the pressure is coming from the club or not, I put that pressure on myself and on those around me because we want to be winning. 

“We’re conscious of it but we also want to win in the right way. We’re not interested in buying a premiership, or going all out for one season, we want to do it in a sustainable way so that we’re competitive and challenging for premierships every year.”

2020: Finalists (week one loss to Gordon)

Ins: Chris Eves (New Zealand), Zac Shepperd (Brisbane), Jaime Rickward (Brisbane), Shane Connolly (Ireland). 

Outs: Jake Turnbull (MLR), George Hendry (retired), Nathan Den Hoedt (MLR), Tom Nolan (Melbourne Rebels) Aston Vaiotu (Melbourne Rebels), Jeral Skelton (Melbourne Rebels), Christian Poidevin (MLR), Lochie Miller (Aussie 7s), Maurice Longbottom (Aussie 7s), Henry Hutchison (Aussie 7s), Dave Horwitz (retired), Brooklyn Hardaker (injured).

Key areas of improvement: 

“Discipline is key for us, it really let us down on a number of occasions last year. Particularly in that semi final where we gave a clear penalty away with two minutes to go right in front of the posts. 

“Our mental preparation has to improve and I think we’ve also got to change the way we review and talk about matches and penalties within matches.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“We’ve got quite a few good former colts coming through. Benny Houston had a cracker for us on the weekend against Manly. He’s a No.8 or lock and was in our colts side two years ago. He played a lot of second grade last year and I think he’s going to be a big improver this season. 

“Zac Carr is another former colt. He’s a No.13 or fullback and he’s just a competitor. He’s in his second or third year playing grade and he’s really grown into his body over the summer. He can play most positions across the backline and he just competes at everything and really doesn’t like getting beaten. 

“Regardless of what position he is playing, I think he’ll be in the side most weeks and do really well. 

“Jackson Mohi is a really talented outside back who showed some of his freakish ability last year. 

“Mitch Short will also be back and will really thrive on playing consistent footy. Being the third halfback at a Super Rugby club is a pretty horrible position to be in and he’s been stuck there for a while now. 

“He hasn’t played a heap of footy for a few years now so I think he’s looking forward to playing an entire season with us. I think people will notice pretty quickly why he has been contracted in the past.

“He’s got brilliant service, he’s a great leader and physically he’s up there with the best in our squad, so I think he’s in for a big year.”

Bold prediction for the season ahead: 

“We want to be in the top four but really we just want to be in the mix at the end, I’m not too concerned about where we finish as long as we get there in good shape. 

“I think we’ll see the same teams back in the mix to be honest. Uni, Easts, Eastwood, Norths will all be up there. Souths and Warringah will both improve. 

“Hunter have obviously recruited hard but we played them a few weeks ago and I don’t think they are quite as good as some are predicting just yet. 

‘If you want a bold prediction, I’ll say it’ll be a Sydney Uni v Randwick grand final.”