Hunter were the big improvers of 2023, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since returning to the Shute Shield in 2020.

But Scott Coleman was far from happy with how his side’s year finished up and the coach has big plans to take the Wildfires deeper into the competition in 2024.

Overview with Scott Coleman: 

“We’ve had a really good summer and it’s been great to get back to playing rugby through the trials,” Coleman told Rugby News. 

“We played Manly up in Singleton a few weeks ago and the boys were itching to get on the field. 

“We started our preseason a bit later than we did in previous years. We looked at last year and while I think we were physically still up for it at the back end of the year, mentally we were drained. 

“Instead of seven weeks before Christmas, we only did four this year and we did more conditioning through playing different games, rather than just flogging them. 

“We restructured the entire preseason on the back of last year’s results. 

“We’re stoked that a number of our players picked up professional contracts on the back of their efforts last season. 

“It’s obviously bittersweet because we would love to have them playing with us, but the entire purpose of this organisation is to create a pathway for country kids and we’ve been able to do that for a number of our players within three years of returning to the competition.”

“Alex Pohla, Conor Winchester and Phil Bradford are all in the US, then Donny Freeman and Hamish Moore both got a taste in Western Australia with the Force and Bo Abra spent some time training with the Waratahs as well. 

“We’re opening doors for players to go on and play higher honours and that’s what it’s all about.”

2024: Semi finalists (lost to Northern Suburbs 23-17 in week one)

Ins: Angus Websdale (Angus Websdale), Tau Koloamatangi (Moana Pasifika), Gabrielle Venditti (Zebre, Italy), Elyjah Crosswell (Manawatu, NZ), Jamie King (Counties Manukau, NZ). 

Outs: Alex Pohla (MLR), Conor Winchester (MLR), Phil Bradford (MLR), Isikeli Fukofuka (Wellington), Jacob Barrett (Ireland), Nick Dobson (Newcastle competition), Morgan Inness (Warringah), Chlayton Frans (Warringah), Travis Gifford (Warringah), Leon Fukofuka (local competition). 

What style of rugby will we see from Hunter this season?

“It’s obviously no secret that we’re a big forward pack and we like to have set piece dominance, that won’t change,” the coach said. 

“We’ve tried to remodel our attack a little bit because of the new laws. I think it’s going to be a lot more open and there will be a lot more line breaks so we’ve worked on our conditioning around that. 

“It’s two different ends of the spectrum. Generally with a big forward pack you want to play direct and slow things down a bit but we’ve got to be quick and fitter to avoid getting burnt by smaller, faster sides when things open up. 

“We’ve looked to add a fair bit of variety to our attack and I think we’re going to play some exciting rugby on the back of that.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“Tom Watson was really consistent last year and I think he could have a breakout season for us in the backs. 

“Brendan Palmer made his debut last year when he was still eligible to play under 18s. He was part of the Waratahs U18s program and has a lot of talent. 

“Ethan Morgan is a player who could benefit from the game opening up this season. He was our second grade No.10 last year and came off the bench in the semi final. 

“I also think the new laws will open things up for Nick Murray at halfback. He’s a great support runner and I think he’ll do plenty of damage backing up some of our big guys. 

“Hamish Moore and Donny Freeman are another two who I think will really excel.”

Which two teams will play in this year’s grand final and why? 

“It’ll definitely be the Wildfires but I’m not sure who we’ll be playing,” Coleman said confidently. 

“If I had to pick, I’d probably say Norths or Randwick based on what they did last year. It’s hard to see either of those sides declining much so I think they’ll be right in the mix to play us in the final.”