2022 Shute Shield Season Review: Northern Suburbs
Northern Suburbs were the form team of the competition for the majority of 2022 but fell short against neighbours and rivals Gordon in this year’s preliminary final.
While minor premiership winning coach Zak Beer was pleased with the season, he and his relatively young group have a burning desire to bring more silverware back to North Sydney Oval.
Overview with Zak Beer:
“Overall it was a really successful season. We won the first grade minor premiership for the first time in 20 years and only the fourth time in the club’s 123-year history, which is an achievement in itself,” Beer told Rugby News.
“At the same time though, as a group we play for premierships and not being able to finish the job doesn’t sit well with us.
“Sure it was a good year, but it certainly lit the fire for us to work harder over summer so that we’re in a position to go one better next year.
“Like a lot of clubs, we were hit hard with injuries, particularly towards the end of the season. I worked out that we played as many games this year as we did in 2020 and 2021 combined and that obviously had an impact on players across all clubs.
“There were a number of times during the year where we had 4, 5, 6 of our regular starters out and we had guys from second grade and even guys that had been playing third grade a few weeks prior that stood up and performed really well. Those players and the club’s depth will only benefit from that.
“We also debuted eight players from last year’s colts program, which is pleasing.
“But we are always striving to win premierships and it’s disappointing to not achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of the year.
“In the preliminary final against Gordon, it was probably a combination of things that went wrong. We were missing quite a few experienced players – Dave Henaway, Angus Sinclair, Hugh Sinclair, James Turner.
“In close games, particularly in finals games, you need experience and I don’t think we were able to capitalise on momentum at different points of that match.
“There were some clear lessons and learnings that came out of that game though and I think we’ll be better for it.”
What needs to happen at the club between now and round one next year?
“I think as a group, we’ve really only just started to scratch the surface of where we want to take our game.
“This group has an incredibly high ceiling and I think it’s important that we continue to evolve and add further layers to our game to help us get there.
“We want to evolve the way we play with and without the ball. We also want to use a lot more scenario based training to help condition all of our players to make better decisions in those pressure situations in games.
“We’ve learnt a lot from not only the games we lost this year, but also the tight games we won and there are some key themes there to work on.
“I also think we need to continue to build our depth. We were probably two deep at most positions this year, but I think you need to be three or four deep right across the park to win a competition like the Shute Shield these days.”
Which of your players do you expect to go on to bigger things from next season?
“To be fair, I think I could make a case for every player in our first grade squad this year, it’s tough to pick just one.
“Boston Kerapa had an incredible season in his first year out of colts. He was someone that wasn’t really in the mix when it came to rep teams over the past few years, but he’s a perfect example of the type of player that this competition can help produce.
“He started all but one game this year, which he missed through concussion, and that’s pretty impressive for anyone, let alone a forward in his first season in grade. He forced his way into the team over some guys with quite a bit of first grade experience and retained his spot all year.
“He’s still raw and he’s already hard at work now for next season.
“Reece Mau’u is another who had a fantastic year and he deserved his spot in the North Harbour team picked recently. He’s a student of the game and he’s really diligent in his preparation. He can play wing, fullback or centre and will only continue to get better.
“The other player who I thought was really good and perhaps a bit unlucky to miss out on that North Harbour side was Charlie Jeavons-Fellows. He missed a few games with some head knocks but probably deserved to get picked otherwise.
“I think he’s right in the mix with some of the best backrowers in the competition and he’s going to be a future leader of this club.”
What can we expect from in 2023 from Norths and from the competition?
“We’ve just had the tightest Shute Shield on record and I think it’ll only get tighter again. The teams at the bottom continue to get better and they’re utilising their resources well, which is great for the competition,” the coach said.
“From a Norths perspective, we’re in a strong position and we’ll retain the vast majority of our first grade squad. Angus Sinclair is retiring but besides that we’ll have everyone else back.
“We’re still only in year two or three with this young group and we will continue to evolve and hopefully be in a position against next year.
“We had a brilliant 2021, which was cut short with Covid, then we fell short in the preliminary final this year so I’m confident we’re on the right track and we’ll be in the mix again next season.”