In just his second year as head coach, former Rats premiership player Josh Holmes took a side that finished 11th in 2023 to the top of Sydney club rugby earlier this year. 

After a long celebration, Holmes and his coaching staff are now focussed on turning Warringah into perennial contenders for the Shute Shield title. 

Overview with Josh Holmes: 

“It was nice to take some time away from footy and feel like you’d really achieved something this season,” Holmes told Rugby News. 

“You don’t have that nagging feeling in the back of your head about what you could have done differently.

“When I took on the role (ahead of the 2024 season), I had the belief that we could turn things around fairly quickly. 

“We knew we had plenty of players with talent at the club and that as coaches, all we needed to do was to put belief in them that if they worked hard for us, we’d do the same and the results would come. 

“From the start, I didn’t think there was any point in aiming to be a finals team or aiming to compete. We wanted to win and that should be our goal ahead of every season.

“It’s nice to sit on the other side of that now, knowing we were able to achieve it. 

“It was a totally different (winning the competition) as a player compared to being a coach. It’s hard to describe but seeing the crowd at Leichhardt Oval and then back at Rat Park and understanding how much support we had behind us. It was really special. 

“It makes you proud to be part of a club like Warringah.”

What needs to be the focus at Warringah between now and round one next year? 

“The players are having a decent break but as a coaching group, we were straight back into it and we’ve turned our attention to 2026. We’ll enjoy a break a bit later in the year.

“We can’t sit back and just expect to replicate what we did this season in 2026. It was a great achievement, but we want to continue to be successful. 

“We’ve also got a lot of players who are close to getting a crack at the next level. If they want to take that next step, then we need to be consistently successful as individuals and as a team.”

Which players deserve a crack at the next level? 

“Wes Thomas had a fantastic year. He won the Catchpole Medal then got an opportunity with the Western Force in the Super Rugby AUS competition. Hopefully that leads to something. 

“Lebron Naea was picked in the Waratahs squad as a centre and he’s only 21. He really built into this year and I’m hoping if he can have another good season next year, then he’ll be right on the brink. 

“Jackson Ropata is another just like that. 

“I’d really like to see the Barnabas boys get a chance. I don’t really know what else they need to show. They are both making 20 plus tackles a game and grabbing a handful of turnovers. 

“There’s not a better No.7 in the Shute Shield than those two boys so they should get an opportunity. 

“We’ve also got a young guy named Luke McCreedy who was our colts captain in 2023. He is starting to find his feet and I think he’s one to keep an eye on.”

What are you expecting next season? 

“We’ll look to continue to play our style of rugby where we move the ball around and try to score plenty of points,” the coach explained. 

“Obviously teams will be out to get us and that will make it difficult, but I think that’ll be good for us. 

“We’ll need to be up every week and we’ll need to find ways to adapt to tough situations.”