Warringah were the big improvers in 2021 and look to be on the back end of the rebuild that the club has undergone in recent years. 

The Rats welcome back to of their most talented and experienced players from down the coast this year and have an impressive group of youngsters who seem ready to make their mark on the competition. 

Overview with Mike Ruthven: 

“We’re really excited to get stuck into the season. It’s obviously been a really long lay off for the boys and I think that has created a real sense of excitement around the group,” Ruthven said. 

“We started to show what we are capable of last year and I think the big thing for us this year is consistency. We want to start the year how we finished last season and then maintain that level of consistency throughout the rest of the competition. 

“It’s an exciting group and we’ve been really fortunate to retain the majority of players from last year.

“We’ve pretty much got every bar two players back from last year. Then we’ve been fortunate on the recruitment front. We feel we’ve done well there and we’re confident that the guys we’ve added to the squad are going to have a really positive influence.”

2021 position (after 10 rounds): 5th – 6 wins from 9 matches

Ins: RJ Saaga (Melbourne), William Clift (Brisbane), Richard Clift (Brisbane), Fred Fewtrell (Japan), Tom Connor (returning), Harley Attwater (returning)

Outs: Rory Suttor (Italy), Sam Needs (retired)

Key areas of improvement:

“Outside of consistency, if we can pick up where we left off last year then I think we’ll be in really good shape,” the coach said. 

“One area where we’ve spent a lot of time on is the tackle contest. I think that is going to give us a lot of pay and benefit in terms of the way we want to play our footy. 

“We also want to manage the momentum of games better than we did last year. With a younger group, it’s not something that we’ve been particularly good at, especially being a footy side that likes to attack and play footy. 

“Sometimes, we put ourselves under pressure when it isn’t necessary so I’d like the group to get a better understanding of when to attack and when to be a little more conservative.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“We’re in a really good position at the moment and have lots of good young talent. We’ve got a lot of aspirational guys who I think will be knocking on the door of Super Rugby by the end of the year. 

“It’s hard to single out individuals. If I have to pick one, it’d probably be Sateki Latu at prop. Teki is jumping into his third year of grade now and has come through our colts system. 

“He’s worked really hard over the last two years and has transformed himself physically. He dedicates a lot of time to his front row craft, with the help of Needsy (Sam Needs), so we’re expecting him to kick on this year.”

Bold prediction for the season ahead: 

“Firstly I just hope we can get through an uninterrupted season and if we can do that, I’d like to think that Warringah will be there on grand final day.

“I’m not sure who we will be playing. Bubba Coleman told NBN News this week that Hunter are going to win the comp so he must be confident. 

“If I was going to pick a team, I’d probably say Norths.”