A young Kings outfit finished the 2022 season on the bottom half of the first XV GPS ladder. 

But the majority of last year’s group return for a second season this year and co-coach Hugh Perrett appears confident his side will be in the mix in the extended 10 round competition.

Overview with Hugh Perrett: 

”We’ve got a fairly mature group this year who have been with us for a few years now and I’m hoping that leads to a good season,” Kings co-coach Hugh Perrett told Rugby News. 

“We’re really happy about the change to a full two round home and away season. It does make the preseason feel a little rushed, but it also allows us to get into the matches. In the past few years it’s felt like we’ve been sitting around waiting for the competition to start and then it’s over before you know it. 

“It’s great for the boys and I think they’ll really enjoy getting to play at home and away against everyone. It’s the best schools in NSW and we get to have a crack at them all. 

“I do think it will help the boys develop as rugby players. The more you play at a high level, the quicker you improve so I think this will be really good for their development. 

“We’ve only played a few trials and it’s all come around pretty quickly after Head of the River to be honest. 

“We played Riverview in our first trial and we learnt a lot from that. Then last week we played against Eastwood and we improved a lot from the week before. 

“It was good to just focus on ourselves against Eastwood. We got a lot out of that trial.” 

2023 Squad: 

“We haven’t lost too many from last year, which is nice and fairly rare in schoolboy rugby,” Perrett told Rugby News. 

“Hadley Tonga is back but he’s injured at the moment and is still a bit off.

“We’ve got a really competitive front row and still have a few boys to return from injury so there is a lot of depth there.

“We’ve got some quality in the backrow with guys like Austin Durbridge. He’s a real leader and he’s great on the ball. 

“We’ve also got a few boys pushing up from seconds from last year who I’m looking forward to watching. 

“”It’s exciting because there is a fair bit of depth there and I think our seconds and our thirds will be really strong as well. It’s a big year for the school.”

What style of rugby can we expect to see from Kings this year? 

“I’d like to see us play smart rugby this season. Which is always hard to do in schoolboy rugby. 

“But I think this group is capable of making smart decisions and playing in the right parts of the field. If we can do that, then execute under pressure, then we’ll be in the mix. 

“It’s no different to senior rugby. Your defence also has to be aggressive and you’ve got to put pressure on your opposition when you can. 

“We’re a fairly sizeable team this year so we’ll play very direct in our attack and quite aggressive in defence.”

Which teams will pose the biggest threats this season? 

“It’s hard to know at this time of the year,” Perrett said. 

“Scots and Joeys will be strong, so will Newington. Every side it hard to beat in the GPS competition. 

“Riverview beat us the other week and they typically get better throughout the season. And Shore keep improving year on year. 

“There’s no easy games and I think that’s the real benefit of having two rounds. If you have an off day and lose, your season isn’t over. 

“It’s going to be exciting and I think every side will be a threat.”