A young, new-look GPS side learnt some valuable lessons last season but ultimately feel one or two wins short of playing finals footy.

Coach Sio Kite welcomes back the majority of that squad though and seems confident Jeeps can push back towards the pointy end of the ladder this season.

Overview with Sio Kite: 

“It’s been an interesting few months at Jeeps and the cattle trade of the off-season hasn’t really helped us,” Kite told Rugby News. 

“It’s not something you can always necessarily control but we’ve lost a few key players.

“It’s okay because that’s going to create an opportunity for some guys to step up and I’m pretty confident that they will.

“I think one of the key lessons from last season for us was that we went really hard over the pre-season and that probably reflected in our results early on, where we started quite well, but then we actually faded in that mid-part of the season. 

“So we’ve been really trying to work with our S&C team and our coaches to, I guess, schedule our load better to help us be more consistent throughout the year. 

“It feels as though that’s been working out so far and I’m happy with the work that we’ve put in so far. 

“This week is a write-off and I imagine that’s the same for everyone in Brisbane but we play the Reds Development team in a trial next week and we’re really looking forward to challenging ourselves in that game. 

“Then we travel to face UQ at UQ in round one and it doesn’t get much tougher than that to start the year, so we’re excited about that opportunity.”

2024: 5th (9 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses)

Ins: James Martens (Wests), Sean Youngman (New Zealand), Jaden Kemp (New Zealand), Bob Martin (New Zealand)

Outs: Shaun Anderson (Sydney Uni), John Downes (Hunter Wildfires), Tevita Kaituu (Hunter Wildfires).

What sort of rugby will we see from GPS this season?

“We’re always going to lean into our DNA at Jeeps, which is to play a good ball-in-hand style of footy,” Kite explained. 

“I’m hoping with an extra year under the belts of some of our younger guys that we’ll be a bit more mature and hopefully able to handle the pressure of those big moments in games. 

“To be fair, we probably didn’t execute when it mattered enough last year. When the heat was on, we just didn’t necessarily stand up like we should have.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“James Martens is a young halfback who has come across to us from Wests and he’s a really exciting player. He will be in the mix for the Australian U20s so we might not see him for big chunks of the season but he’s certainly one to watch. 

“Malakai Taulani is an exciting tighthead prop. I think it’s understated how much impact he had on our team last year in his first year out of colts. He played pretty much every game and he’s had an outstanding pre-season.

“He’s turned up fit and I think he’ll take another step in his progression and development this year.”

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

“Look, I’m going to throw a smokey out there and say it’s going to be us and Norths,” Kite said. 

“I think Dan Ritchie’s cooking up something nice over there, to be honest with you. Having had a chance to catch up with him over the summer, I’ve been impressed with what they are doing up there. 

“I’d like to think that teams from outside last year’s top four will push up the ladder this season. 

“But the reality is when you look at where the Super Rugby guys are distributed at the minute, they only seem to be going to a couple of clubs and that’s not good for the competition.”