We’re halfway through the 2024 Shute Shield regular season and Warringah and Easts, two sides that missed the finals last year, both sit in the top three.

With no rugby over the June long weekend, we thought we’d check in with each of the 12 coaches to find out how they are travelling after nine rounds and what they are expecting in the months ahead.

Next up, Eastwood, Norths and Sydney Uni.

Eastwood with David Telfer – 8th (4 wins, 5 losses)

How would you describe your first half of the season? 

“We’ve spent the first part of this season finding our new identity as a first grade team at Eastwood,” rookie coach Telfer said.

“The opening two rounds were a bit of an “initiation” against quality sides in Manly & Norths.

“In the next five rounds, we moved into more of an “understanding” phase and got a better idea of what it takes to be a top side in the Shute Shield. We also learnt the importance of consistency when we had good wins against Warringah and Easts, but then lost to Hunter and West Harbour in the following weeks.

“Now I think we are beginning to understand our strengths after wins against Western Sydney and Souths leading into the bye weekend.”

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

“Consistency is important for us and we want to continue to learn from game to game,” Telfer said.

“I have challenged our guys to be brave and back one another and this will be important heading into this next stage of the season.”

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

“Outside of our own players, Teddy Wilson. At this level he is guaranteed to score or set up at least two tries a game.”

Which two teams will play in the grand final and why?

“We will be playing Eastern Suburbs or Warringah. They’ve both been playing some good footy.”

“We’ve been up and down. After a strong start to the year, winning four games in a row, the last month has been patchy with seven of our regular starters unavailable,” Beer said.

“That led to some inconsistency but a few of our leaders have started to drip-feed back in now.

“It did provide a great opportunity to bring some younger players through though, which will only put us in a stronger position coming into the back half of the year.”

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

“Our defence has been the cornerstone of our game the over last few years and this year, we’ve been conceding too many points. It’s not up to our standard and that has been a strong focus.”

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

“The Suesue brothers from the Two Blues. When they’re on their game they’re a great side to watch.”

Which two teams will play in the grand final and why?

“We obviously want to be there but with the competition so tight, any of the other top eight sides are capable on their day.

“We’ve seen how games towards the business-end of the Shute Shield have a different level of intensity and pressure so it’ll be interesting to see if teams are able adapt to that.”

Sydney Uni with Todd Louden – 7th (3 wins, 6 losses)

How would you describe your first part of the season?

“Our young squad has been learning and developing at a rapid pace  and every loss we’ve had has been very close, so we know we are in the mix,” Louden said.

“Although those close losses have been frustrating for the squad at times, it’s also been rewarding to see the young group grow from the lessons they’ve learnt each week in fairly trying conditions, knowing we are not far off beating some of the more fancied teams in 2024.”

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

“We need to ensure we learn and adapt from the lessons of the first half of the season and play consistent rugby on both sides of the ball for 80 minutes.”

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

“Like the NFL, rugby quarterbacks (Coby) Milne, (Jack) Bowen, and (Andrew) Deegan are the most influential players as they direct their teams around the field.

“I don’t look past the work and influence upfront of the forwards though and there are some very influential forwards in the Shute Shield this year.”

Which two teams will play in the Grand Final and why?

“From what we have seen and the firepower of their respective squads (representative players included), it will be Easts and Randwick.”