Two years after winning the 2023 Shute Shield title, a number of Randwick players and coaches took opportunities at the next level. 

New coach Shaun Berne inherited a young squad and managed play finals footy. But while Randwick couldn’t match Easts in the opening week of the playoffs, Berne seems confident the Wicks had the season they needed in 2025 and have started to rebuild towards their next title tilt. 

Overview with Shaun Berne: 

“We had a transitional year at Randwick and ended up using 53 players in first grade and blooded 27 debutants,” coach Shaun Berne told Rugby News

“That’s not usually a recipe for success. It might sound like an excuse, but I think there are probably 10 teams in the competition that would say something similar this year. 

“The two teams that had the most consistency were Warringah and Easts and they played in the grand final. 

“They both played some really good footy and were easily the best two teams in the competition. Congratulations has to go to Warringah. 

“But it you look at the turnover of those two squads compared to the rest of the competition, it’s pretty obvious what the difference there is. 

“We had a lot of first graders move on after 2024 and while that made things tough this year, I think we’re in a really good position moving into 2026 because a lot of young, emerging players got opportunities this season. 

“Our second grade also fell just short against Eastwood in the preliminary final, so there’s a lot of talent there as well. 

“I think we’ve got a lot of young guys that learnt a lot this year and I’m hoping we benefit from that in 2026 and beyond.”

What needs to happen at Randwick between now and round one next year? 

“Retention is the big one for us, probably even more so than recruitment at the moment,” Berne said. 

“Our first and second grade colts teams both won the competition and our third grade colts played in the grand final. We’ve got 30 of those boys pushing into grade next year, so the key is to retain all of them. 

“As much as possible, we want our locals and juniors pushing into our top teams and we’ve got a good opportunity to do that. 

“Our Director of Rugby Matty Bowmen has decided to step down to spend more time with his family. He’s been great for us, but obviously we understand his decision and we’re in the process of replacing him at the moment.”

Which of your players do you think can push on to the next level? 

“It’s been great to see some club guys get a chance in the Super Rugby AUS competition,” Berne said. 

“Joel Ellis received our best and fairest award and he’s been a consistent performer in the Shute Shield for a few years now. 

“Behind him was Johnny Chan who also had a great year. His older brother Nick has been in around professional rugby but I think Johnny has the talent and the drive to crack through as well. 

“Jimmy Hendren scored four tries for the Waratahs a few weeks back and I had agents and clubs calling me constantly about him. 

“It makes you wonder what a lot of these guys in professional rugby are watching because he’s been doing exactly that in the Shute Shield for a number of years now. 

“He needs to be playing professional footy and if the Tahs don’t have a spot for him, then he’s going to have to go elsewhere because he’s just too good to be playing club footy again next year.

“We’ve also got some good young colts like Luca Cleverley, Tyler Mayberry and Tom Farr Jones who should be in the mix for the Aussie U20s next year, then above them Felix Turinui and Darcy Stanfield were the No.9 and No.10 in our first grade colts side, so there is plenty of good young talent pushing through.”

What can we expect in 2026? 

“We want to be right up there every year and if we have less injuries than we did this year, I think we can be. But every team probably has than plan. 

“The movements will be interesting. 

‘Manly are probably a team I’ve got my eye on. They got off to a poor start but improved through the season and they’ll be keen to move up the ladder. 

“Then there are new coaches as a handful of clubs so it’s tough to predict how that will play out.”