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. 

“If anything, it’s only going to fuel the fire for next year because we know we were close this year and fell just a minute short. I’m confident we’ll be back bigger and better next season. 

“We spoke a lot this year about the process rather than the outcome and we knew we had a lot of good rugby players at the club this year who we knew would compete and do the hard work. 

“So we knew we had the rugby in us, we just didn’t know how long it would take to come together and build the combinations you need to compete against the better sides. 

“From that perspective, we’re really happy with where we got to. Then once we got close to the finals, we wanted to go on and win it and unfortunately we fell a bit short. 

“Across the club, we had eight of nine teams playing finals this year and it was great to see so many teams playing finals footy. 

“Now that we’ve got taste for it again, we don’t just to be there at the end of the year, we want to do some damage and win some titles.”

What is the focus at Warringah between now and round one next year? 

“We implemented a lot of new systems this year and it took a bit of time for everyone to understand how we wanted to do things as a club,” the coach explained. 

“With that out of the way, now we can focus on specific areas of our game to improve so we’re a long way ahead of where we were this time last year. 

“We’ll make a few changes to the way we did things this year but mostly we’ll be adapting and focusing on what we built this season.”

Which of your players do you expect to push on next year? 

“It was great to see Coby Miln get picked up by the Force, he’s going on their Spring Tour,” Holmes said. 

“Barney (Zac Barnabas) has been told he needs to work on a few things and he’s doing that at the moment. 

“Clay (Chlayton Frans) has picked up a train and trial contract with the Waratahs, which is great reward. 

“I’d love to see Wes Thomas get an opportunity somewhere. He’s working really hard on his set piece and it’s improving rapidly, but his work around the park adds so much to a team. 

“Australian rugby seem to be looking for guys that can add something in different areas of the game and he’s one of those guys. I think he’d develop really quickly in a professional system. 

“I’d love to see Archie Saunders start on the wing for the Waratahs next year. He’s got some stiff competition around him, but that sort of thing doesn’t really phase him. He just gets on with his work. 

“He also fits the Super Rugby mould perfectly. He’s big, he’s tall and he’s fast and he’ll handle that step up to the next level. 

“The two Bens (Marr and Woollett) could also both walk into a Super Rugby program and not just be ready to play but ready to make an impact.”

What can we expect in 2025? 

“I think you’ll see a Warringah team that is really hungry in 2025,” Holmes said. 

“We’ll add a few strings to our bow and we’re confident we can be right in the mix again next year. 

“This season was really competitive and I don’t think anything will change in 2025. 

“There are a lot of really good players right across the competition who are good enough to play at the next level and it’s creating a really strong competition.”