After falling short in a second straight preliminary final, Eastwood farewelled coach Ben Batger and appointed successful colts mentor Dave Telfer as his replacement.

Telfer has lost six regular first graders from last year’s squad but has recruited well and seems confident those new players and the young talent pushing through from colts can help the Woodies extend their season by an extra week in 2024.

Overview with Dave Telfer: 

“We’ve been really happy with our preseason,” Telfer told Rugby News.  

“We took a squad of 46 players up to Brisbane to play GPS a few weeks ago and we also had an opposed session against Norths (Brisbane) while we were there.  

“It was a good experience and I think the boys enjoyed training and playing against someone else after a long summer.  

“We spent two nights away together as a group, built some good connections and really got to know each other away from the footy field.  

“We then played a trial against the Waratahs A side last week. We played the new tackle laws up in Brisbane but then didn’t play them against the Tahs, which was an interesting exercise. The feedback from the referee after the Tahs game though was that he could see the difference. 

“Everything the Tahs were doing was high tackle focussed, which is exactly as it should be because the rules haven’t changed at Super Rugby level. 

“Whereas everything we were doing was a bit lower, so that was positive to hear that the ref could see the difference in our intent. 

“We’ve played two trials now and we’ve got two to come and I think by the end of it, we’ll have a really clear idea of where we’re at and what we need to improve on throughout the season. 

“Although I’m a new coach, I think it’s important to embrace what happened last year and in previous seasons. We’re a proud club and the expectation is to be in the finals every year, which is what Eastwood has done of late. 

“Now, we want to take the next step and go from a 6/10 to a 10/10 so that we can challenge for and win premierships throughout the entire club. 

“I’m confident I’ve got a coaching staff that is really well placed to help me do that. 

“We’ve got John Manenti involved as director of rugby when he isn’t away with the Sevens. We’ve also got Anthony Griffin, the former Dragons and Broncos NRL coach, working with the coaches and our leadership group.  

“We’ve welcomed Dave Dennis to work on our defence, contact and tackle collisions, which is obviously a big focus with the new tackle laws. 

“Mitch Lees is back working on our set piece and in the backs, we’ve got Sam Rolfe who coached Uni Owls down in Canberra and was assistant coach of Sydney Uni’s second grade side last year.”

2023: Semi finalists (lost to Randwick 38-20)

Ins: Angus Burns (Wests, ACT), Lachlan Frean (Norths), Julian Zissis (Southern Districts), Ben Dalton (Uni Norths, ACT), Angus Blackmore (Uni Norths, ACT), Reece Tapine (Western Force), Michael Stringer (Buller, New Zealand), Tomoki Nobeta (Kamaishi Seawaves, Japan), Boston Schuster (Grammar TEC, New Zealand), Hadley Tonga (Aussie 7s), Oscar Frean (Southern Districts), Terence Patolo (Rugby League).

Outs: Charles Granger (retired), Ed Craig (retired), Komiti Tuilagi (Warringah), Fabian Goodall (Easts), Adrian Brown (Warringah), Harry Wilson (Easts), Lachlan Albert (New Zealand), Chris Bell (Easts), Wayne Borsak (Warringah).

What style of rugby will we see from Eastwood this year? 

“It’ll sound quite generic but we want to be a side that will work hard for each other every week and a side where each individual knows his role from 1-15,” the new coach continued. 

“It’s generic and very basic. But on the weekend, we lost the effort areas, which was really disappointing. That’s something we have to resolve. 

“I also want the side to play without fear of making the wrong decision or making an error. I want them to play with confidence and make decisions out on the field based on what they can see, because they’ve got a better view of things than I do on the sideline. 

“We’re going to be quicker than we have been previously as well. Our winger on the weekend was 75 kilos but he has incredible x-factor. We want to be the team that can score from anywhere on the field. 

“But that is all pointless if we concede 45 points. Eastwood have leaked too many points in previous seasons and we leaked too many points against the Waratahs on the weekend. They scored three first phase tries, which was really disappointing.”

Players to watch: 

“James McGregor is still colts age and he’s only small but he’s got genuine x-factor. He’s already debuted for the Aussie 7s and I think he’s got the ability to play Super Rugby. 

“He’s less of a Corey Toole and more of a Damien McKenzie that plays 10 or 15. He’s on the wing for us at the moment because he’s been with the Aussie 7s for most of the summer but every time he gets the ball, he’s a genuine threat and he doesn’t shy away from things in defence either. 

“In the forwards, Harry Turner is one to watch. He missed all of last season but was Eastwood’s first grade No.7 in 2022. The trial against the Waratahs was his first game back since the semi final two years ago. 

“He’s chomping at the bit to get on the field and lead this team around. Eastwood means a lot to him and he’s really shown his leadership qualities over the last few months.”

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

“Everyone said how close the last few years were but I think it’s going to be even closer again,” Telfer predicted. 

“In terms of who Eastwood plays in the final, you’d have to assume Randwick and Norths are going to be up there again. They’ve both got quality programs, lots of depth and they’re both really well coached. It’s hard to see them going backwards.”