Randwick coach Ben McCormack is confident his young group is ready to match it with the big boys and challenge for a spot at the pointy end of the Shute Shield ladder this season.

A young Randwick side, minus their contracted players who spent most of last season in a Super Rugby bubble, were mid-table when the competition was postponed and then cancelled in 2021 and McCormack is confident they can exceed that this season.

Overview with Ben McCormack:

“I wasn’t unhappy with how we performed last year,” McCormack told Rugby News.

“I thought we were having a reasonable season and had plenty of footy left in us. We had a largely young group and we were able to debut a number of young guys who were very good colts players.

“I thought some of those guys did a great job and it was great to give them that exposure to first grade footy.”

“I don’t think the base of our game will change but we’re looking to add some layers to what we’ve been doing.

“We want the quality and consistency of our basic skills to be right up there and we want to execute those skills under pressure.

“It’s going to be super important to start the season well and not just from a performance point of view but also from a cultural point of view. You need to have the right vibe around the group and the right standards and behaviours already established.

“Luckily, most of our contracted players are all juniors or colts who have been in and around this group for a numbers of years so I’d like to think they’ll slot in pretty seamlessly.”

2021 position (after 10 rounds): 7th – 5 wins from 9 matches

Ins: Tom Maiava (NZ), Paulo Leleisiuao (QLD), Matt Feassler (QLD), James Tomkinson (NZ), Ben Higgins (HK), 

Outs: Aston Vaitou (France), Lucas Dorell (France), Mitch Short (France), Winniata Cherington (NRL), Locky Miller (NRL), Brooklyn Hardaker (MLR), Inia Qereqeretabua (Spain), Kyle Harris (retired), Michael Wood (QLD), Valance Yates (NZ Mitre 10).

Key areas of improvement: 

“We’ve been working hard to consolidate and sharpen our attacking and defensive maul,” McCormack said. 

“We’ve also tweaked and added to our defensive systems to make sure we maximise our ability to apply consistent pressure on other team’s attack for long periods of the game.?

Player(s) to watch: 

“Benny Houston played most of last year in first grade and I think he probably would have gone on and had a bit of a breakout year if the season continued. He had some outstanding games for us at No.6.

“In the backs, Christian Yassmin has been good for a number of years now. I wouldn’t swap him for any other outside back in the comp and again, I think he’ll only keep getting better.

“Nick Chan is another to keep an eye on.” 

Bold prediction for the season ahead: 

“Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about the amount of energy, heavy recruitment and support that teams like Hunter, the Two Blues, West Harbour and Souths have put in over the offseason.

“I agree that they’ll all be big improvers and the season will be way more competitive than in previous years. 

“But I think at the end of the day the usual suspects will still make up the top end of the table and fight out the finish.”