Veteran Shute Shield coach Phil Blake has taken the reigns at Concord Oval and wants to turn West Harbour into a Shute Shield powerhouse by ‘winning the west’. 

Blake admits everyone at the Pirates has a lot of work to do, but he seems confident we’ll see a different and far more competitive West Harbour team in the club’s 125th season.

Overview with Phil Blake: 

“We’re really looking forward to getting stuck into the season after a big preseason,” the veteran coach told Rugby News. 

“The attitudes of the players over summer has been outstanding and there is plenty of talent, so I’m looking forward to seeing them in action. 

“The potential at the club is unlimited. The west is the big growth opportunity for rugby and we’re smack bang in the middle of that and it’s up to us to capitalise on that and build a program that attracts the best players. 

“If we are running a successful program and winning plenty of footy games, then the perception of the club will change. 

“Kids aren’t stupid, they look at results and if you aren’t winning games of football, kids aren’t going to want to join your program. 

“So we are hoping we can change that over the next season or two and change the perception of the next generation of players. 

“Once we get to the point that players from the west want to come and play here, then I truly believe that West Harbour will be a powerhouse of the Shute Shield competition. 

“It’s going to be hard work and it’s not going to happen overnight, but that’s what we’ve got to do. 

“We’ve got the best facility in the Shute Shield, with the best ground and the best training facilities, so now we’ve got to capitalise on that and attract the best players. 

“When you’re winning games, crowds grow and it all flows from there.”

2024: 12th (3 wins, 15 losses)

Ins: Trent Bax, Morris Clementson, Will Dooner, Harrison Hanson, Byron Lloyd Gilmour, Jack Sheridan.

Outs: Scott King, Micah Gillard, Callum Skirter, Hotoni Hafoka.

What style of rugby will we see from West Harbour this season? 

“We’ll look to play to our strengths and capitalise on our big, aggressive forward pack. 

“We’ve got to be pragmatic and play a style that suits us and that might be very different to the styles that suit other teams.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“I think we’ll be a team that gets better with every game we play. We’ve got a lot of new players and we’re building a lot of combinations and that usually takes a bit of time,” the coach said. 

“I don’t really want to single out individuals because there has been a lot of change at the club and it’s still to early to tell which players that will suit. 

“After a few weeks though, I think you’ll start to see a West Harbour side playing very differently to what you’ve seen in recent years.”

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

“I’d like to see us and Souths in the grand final, that’d be nice and turn a new noses up,” Blake said. 

“One of the great things about the Shute Shield is that the competition seems to change constantly. 

“The back half of the season is also very different to the first half. Easts had six or seven players drop into their team for last year’s grand final but Norths still came within a whisker of winning it. 

“So it’s unpredictable and I think that will continue again this year.”