Souths pushed up the ladder last year but fell short come finals time against a classy UQ outfit.

After winning last year’s colts competition, there’s no shortage of talent at Chipsy Wood Oval and coach Garrick Morgan is hopeful his side can push for the title this season.

Overview with Garrick Morgan: 

“Consistency and sharp performance are the main words I’d use for this season. We need to execute every minute of every match,” the former Wallaby said.

“We were happy with our improved results last year on the back of 2023 and we learnt that at times, we’re a side that can play with plenty of heart when our backs are against the wall.

“We don’t want to be in that position though and our game management didn’t stack up when it mattered come finals time.

“When I arrived, our Premier Grade side needed a three-year plan to get to where we needed to be. It’s a frustratingly long time, but you need to build a solid foundation before you try to turn a team around.

“We’ve added tremendous experience, qualification and depth to our coaching group with Jason Jones coming on as Director of Rugby and Rama Chand joining us. I will be supporting Rama to be my successor. Plus we’ve retained the best of our coaching group from last year.

“We’ve got to get our game management right, not just in the finals, but throughout the season. We need to put teams away cleanly, not blow big leads and battle to hold on for tight wins.

2024: 4th (lost to UQ 33-17 in minor semi)

Ins: Kitione Taliga (Sunnybank), Keenan Time (France), Tye James (returning), Poasa Niumataiwalu (GPS), Conrad Tua (New Zealand), Peter Halapio (GPS),

Outs: Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (Wests), Reece Mies (Wests), Sam Von Blanckensee (retired)

What sort of rugby will we see from Souths this year?

“We want to play a fierce, controlled style of high energy rugby, backed with stronger game management that is flexible enough to cope with the unexpected.

“We want to be striving for consistent improvement every single time we step on the pitch. But overall, we will tighten the ropes more than look to change things from last year.”

Player(s) to watch:  

“There’s a few I think.  Xavier Rubens and Sam Hanna have both been around for a few years now and I think they’ll have a big impact this season,” Morgan said.

“Sam probably played eight games in Premier Rugby last year and I think we won every game he played in. He’s 6’7 and has plenty of go about him.

“Jake Kurbatoff is also a great player. He played every game for us last year then missed the finals due to injury and we really missed him.”

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

“Brothers and Souths,” Morgan said.

“Wests are hungry too but we will treat every team with respect and you need to in this competition.

“Brothers have it tough.  to keep winning consistently when players are constantly moving on to play at higher levels is hard. We’re peaking when they’ve peaked and can be pushed off the top.

“I think it’ll be us and Brothers and this year I think we’ll get it done.”