We’re halfway through the 2024 Hospital Cup regular season and while defending premiers Brothers have jumped out to a lead at the top of the competition ladder, things are pretty tight below that.

Before the second round begins on Saturday, we spoke to all nine Hospital Cup coaches to get the inside word on how things are looking in their camp and what each club is expecting in the months ahead. First up, Brothers, GPS and Norths. 

Brothers with Ben McCormack – 1st (7 wins, 1 loss)

How would you describe your first half of the season? 

“I’ve been happy enough with the results we’ve had so far but there is still plenty to improve on in our performances in the second round of the competition,” McCormack told Rugby News. 

What do you need to improve on in the weeks ahead? 

“We haven’t managed to string long periods of quality together just yet. We still need to improve managing momentum in games and setting and holding a standard that we’re consistently happy with.”

Who is the most influential player in the competition and why? 

“It’s hard to name only one to be honest,” the coach said. 

“Jaiden Christian and Paddy James have been outstanding for us along with a few others at Brothers. Rhian Stowers at Bond is electric. Kohan Herbert for Souths and Shaun Anderson from GPS have also been standouts so far this year.” 

Which four teams will play finals this year and why? 

“Brothers, Wests, Souths & Bond,” McCormack predicted. 

“Bond are sleepers. They haven’t started the way they would’ve liked but they’ve got lots of talent and great coaches. When they gel, they’ll be a real handful.”

GPS with Sio Kite – 4th (5 wins, 3 losses)

How would you describe your first half of the season?

“Up and down is probably the best description,” Kite said.

“We’ve had some good moments but we didn’t tick all the boxes we wanted to and I’m grateful we get a chance to atone for that in the second half of the season.”

What do you need to improve on in the weeks ahead?

“There’s plenty of technical things that we’ll be focusing on over the coming weeks,” the coach explained.

“Overall though, I think at points so far this year we’ve got bogged down chasing the sun and forgot to enjoy the weather, so to speak.

“We are park footballers at the end of the day and I believe we play our best rugby when we are expressing ourselves, so we’ll be trying to do that in this second half.”

Who is the most influential player in the competition and why?

“It’s easy to point to the contracted guys – for instance, we got taught a lesson by a Test player in James O’Connor last weekend, but of the non-contracted guys and not including and of my GPS players, my picks are:

• Brad Hemopo – I’m not sure how or why he isn’t playing rugby for a job, he’s a good hard footballer.
• George Francis – Everyone sees him fold people like a letter in scrums but in the loose, he’s very difficult to handle as well
• Tyler Campbell – Tyler is exceptional on both sides of the ball. He is a nightmare to deal with and I hope he takes the week off on the beach when we play Bond in round 2.”

Which four teams will play finals and why?                                                                                                                                       

“I would love us to be there but aside from Brothers, it’s too hard to call.”

Norths with Dan Ritchie – 9th (1 win, 7 losses)

How would you describe your first half of the season and why?

“It’s been a real learning curve for our group. We’ve had some good passages in games and some equally poor ones. We’ve made improvements every week in some of the key areas and we’re working towards closing the gap between our spikes and regressions in games,” Ritchie told Rugby News. 

“We’ve shown we have the capacity to play a great style of rugby and as this young group experiences more time in the unforgiving saddle of Premier Rugby, we’re confident we’ll see this in a more consistent capacity.

“If you look at the Wests game, with 10 minutes to play we’re five points behind and Wests are taking shots for goal, something they haven’t had to do previously against us. But in trying to win the game we made some errors which they punished us for.

“The Sunnybank game was one that got away from us because we didn’t close the game out when we had the lead near the end. The GPS game was particularly disappointing as we played the better rugby for most of the first half and then clocked off and got punished for it.

“Easts was by far our best tactical performance, and we demonstrated good game management and patience. Although we left points out there, we led for all bar five minutes of the first half and managed to close the game out this time. 

“That was a huge step in the right direction for us and we can now look to build on that win in the second round.”

What do you need to improve on in the weeks ahead?

“We’ve put a huge emphasis on cultivating a learning environment at Norths, which we need to sustain,” the coach explained. 

“We have to manage games better so that we’re able to control momentum and build pressure on our opposition for longer periods.

“Our forwards coach, Barry Fa’amausili, has done some great work with our set piece and our breakdown and that has given us a strong platform to play from.”

Who is the most influential player in the competition and why?

“I’d say Tyler Campbell from Bond. He has a big influence on their performance each week,” Ritchie said. 

“He has moments when he puts the team on his back and takes the game head on. Then at other times, it’s his game management and the organisation of his team that is equally impressive. For me, he’d be one of the smartest players in QPR.

“Equally, I’d put Paddy James from Brothers in a similar category.”

Which four teams will play finals and why?

“It’s too hard to call at the moment,” Ritchie said. 

“It becomes a very different competition in the second round, especially when Super Rugby finishes and players drop back in. The Reds playing Wales and going to Tonga may change that this year though, so anything could happen.”