By MARK CASHMAN

There was a lot of like about the way that Eastwood was shaping when the Shute Shield was shut down because of the pandemic.

The Woodies sat handily in fourth spot on the table and with a number of their Waratahs stars on the way back another one of those runs at the end of the season like 2020 was very much on the cards.

Players like Charlie Cale, Max Stewart and Harry Wilson had emerged and the likes of Enoka Muliufu and Fabian Goodall had found some consistency, all the while being driven hard by coach Ben Batger.

Here’s what coach Batger thought of the work of his emerging group:

All the numbers:

Played: Nine
Won: Six
Lost: Three
Points for: 388
Points Against: 235
Differential: 153
Bonus Points: Nine
Competition Points: 33
Position: Fourth

What was the best part of the 2021 journey?


“Just seeing the team and players develop over the short period that we had together. We changed a few things and it was great to see us get better week to week and it seemed like we were really building,” Batger said.

“It was fantastic to see young guys like Charlie Cale, Max Stewart and Harry Wilson take their chance and develop into good first grade footballers. A win with 14 men against Souths and a really gutsy win against Gordon at Chatswood were game highlights.”

What was the worst part?

“Obviously the season getting cancelled. Losing to Uni after the bell hurt too, It was a long drive home from Mudgee after that one.”

Who was your “go to” player in the Shute Shield squad?

“Hard to go past Michael Icely. He took his game to the next level this year and was duly awarded with a Super Rugby debut with Melbourne Rebels. Enoka Muliufu was really good too. He had a huge off season and whenever he was on the field he was a real handful.”

If the season played out who would have played in the grand final?

“Uni v Eastwood in another classic heavyweight showdown.”

Is the appointment of Darren Coleman at the Waratahs good for the Shute Shield?

“I guess only time will tell but at the moment we are already seeing better collaboration and communication with him in charge.

“From Eastwood’s perspective we are just hopeful NSW will look closer at Shute Shield form. In past two years we have lost five players to other provinces which means we don’t get them for Shute Shield which is frustrating after the time and effort we put into developing our young talent (at the same time we understand you can’t keep them all).”

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

“Fingers crossed the government allows us to train soon and then it’s simply a matter of getting better as a squad in all facets of our game.

“We don’t need to re-invent the wheel, things have been going well last few years but you can never afford to remain stagnate and content.”

Which players do you expect to go on to bigger and better things next year?

“We have two very exciting outside backs in Harry Wilson and Lachlan Shelly who are still only 21 years old, but have played quite a bit of first grade now.

“In the forwards Ratu Tuisese has been learning how to be a forward these last two years (after being a rugby league winger) and he could be anything. Rhys Sheriff our tight head will also be entering his third year in first grade and with a big off season could have a breakout year.”

Bold prediction for 2022: 

“Eastwood to win the Shute Shield.”

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON