Billy Melrose’s Gordon side came agonisingly close to winning two straight Shute Shield premierships, on either side of the Covid cancelled 2021 season.

The Stags were level with Sydney Uni in the final minutes of the grand final, but couldn’t quite find a way to cap what was a remarkable back end of the 2022 season.

Overview with Billy Melrose:

“The first half of the season was fairly challenging for a number of reasons and we certainly had our fair share of close losses,” Melrose told Rugby News.

“I was always confident that things could turn if we stuck at it and as it turned out we went on a great run through the second half of the season and into the finals.  

“We put ourselves under a lot of pressure from the position we were in at the mid point of the season and it was almost finals like footy for the last few months. But somehow we managed to get through a tough back end and play some of our best rugby in the finals.  

“Confidence is the biggest thing in the game and we really lacked confidence through the first half of the season. We also weren’t able to build connection and continuity through selection, the big wet and training all over the place.

“We didn’t lose by much in a lot of those games, but we weren’t quite where we needed to be .  

“Around the midway point of the season, the sun shone for a few weeks, I changed the way we were training and altered the way we were playing to a degree. We also gambled on a couple of selections.

“With a player or two back, we played Eastwood in round 11 in a grand final rematch. We knew we needed to aim up or it was going to make things hard. It was a big pressure game against a good opposition and we performed well in a good quality match.

“From there, the group just kept gathering momentum from every performance. We worked hard but differently, had some nervous times but also a lot of fun along the road to Grand final day.

“I woke up Grand final  morning  hoping to see the sun shining so it could be a fast free flowing match but that certainly wasn’t the case for either side. Uni are a great team and really played to their strengths in the conditions. Set piece was always going to be a prime factor in the result and no doubt Uni gave themselves a few more shots at our goal line across the day while we looked to counter punch and tried to spread the ball to open them up . 

“At 19-19 with a few minutes to go, you did dare to dream. But maybe being a bit busted up over the course of matches to get there got us in the end.

“Credit to Uni, they held ball for what seemed about 20 phases and got that final try. I dont think you ever forget the pain of a late Grand final defeat but Ill also never forget some of the efforts the boys put in along the way. 

“They were contentious calls late in the game for sure, but that’s footy “. 

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

“There are probably two or three parts of our game that let us down and stopped us from winning the competition” the coach said. 

“I think our lineout creaked under pressure at times throughout the season. We can get better there 

“Our defence kept improving and improving throughout the season – One of our finals wins was with 30% of ball and literally no field position but I don’t think we ever got it to the point where it was watertight, particularly close to our line.  

“Then there were a few small parts of our attack that we didn’t really get on top of. We were a team that aside from a few of the forward, had only played a small amount together so there was good improvement and hopefully that can continue on in 2023 . 

“At the end of every year, you hope you can hold on to most of your squad and have another crack the following year but in the modern game, there are always potentially a few boys moving on to other opportunities. So if that occurs, we’ll need to develop our young guys or find a few players to keep things going .”

Which of your players do you expect to go on to bigger things from next season?

“I don’t really like putting players above each other but I’ll give you one forward and one back.

“I thought our prop Tristan Fuli had a really good first season in the Shute Shield. He hadn’t played a lot of footy for quite a while before this season and I thought he was fantastic. 

“If he can perform like that again next season, I think he’ll be one to keep an eye on. He’s up in the 130kg plus range, he’s got good footballing ability and he knows how to score a try. 

“In the backs, Alesana Pohla has a big future. He played the Grand final off the bench with two broken bones in his elbow, which not many people knew. He also played with a broken knuckle from round nine. 

“We weren’t able to start him in the grand final because of the pain he was in and throughout the season he wasn’t really able to use his best weapon, which is his right hand fend. 

“He’s best level footy is right up there and he’s still developing,  he’s only played 20 first Grade games. 

What can we expect in 2023 from your club and the competition? 

“I can’t see the competition being much different. There might be different teams finishing in different positions, because you’ve only really got to lose a few or gain a few players to move up or down in a competition as tight as this. 

“I’ve been told that the finals will go back to the top six next year but I hope they stick with a top eight. I’m not just saying that because we benefited from it, but I think in a competition as tight as this one, a top eight is warranted. 

“It’s going to be frighteningly close again. With so many moving on from top teams to go to professional leagues and the former lower teams with significant resources, it’s really a very even comp.

“For Gordon, hopefully we’ll develop a few more of our younger players. I think that’s what we need to continue doing. We’ve done okay in recent years,  we won in 2020 and came close this year. 

“Whenever you lose a grand final it always hurts and it’s hard to get over so hopefully that drives our guys to want to go one better next season.”