After missing the playoffs in 2023, new coach Josh Holmes took a new look Warringah side to the top of the Shute Shield ladder and very nearly to this year’s Shute Shield grand final. 

The Rats fell agonisingly short or returning to the final match of the season for the first time since 2019, but look likely to challenge for more titles again in the years ahead. 

Overview with Josh Holmes:

“It was a tough way to finish the season, we were and still are pretty upset about it,” Holmes told Rugby News. 

“But from where we started, with a new group and with new coaches, we still achieved a lot of what we wanted to achieve this year and from that, we’re reasonably happy.