GPS will enter the 2026 Hospital Cup season under new head coach Matt Cockbain after finishing seventh last year.

The club won five of their 16 matches in 2025 and remained competitive in patches but were unable to mount a sustained push for the top four.

GPS will hope the appointment of former Wallaby World Cup winner and club legend Cockbain, who also serves as director of rugby, can help turn those flashes of promise into consistent results.

Overview with Matt Cockbain:

“In terms of last season and what we need to improve on, consistency is the big one,” Cockbain told Rugby News.

“Consistency of turning up and consistency of delivering on the basics of the game.

“It’s not rocket science. If you do the simple things well, it invariably puts you in a good position to win games.

“Off the back of that you’ve got a few talented individuals who can win games for you, but most of the group just need to focus on doing the fundamentals well.

“Preseason has been solid so far. The boys have been enjoying it and the effort has certainly been there. Accuracy, maybe not all of the time.

“But as I said the focus has really been on improving week to week and trying to build an understanding of what good looks like.”

2025: 7th (5 wins, 11 losses)

Ins: Charlie McCauley (Bond), Princeton Loane (year off)

Outs: Stuart Tualima (Manly), Malakai Taulani (Manly)

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

“Having a good solid set piece is really important,” GPS’ head coach said.

“Our scrum needs to improve, and we probably need to be better with our lineout win percentage.

“GPS DNA has always been about running rugby and we want to enjoy that aspect of the game, but manage it with good decision making around when to do that.

“We’ve picked three key focus areas to start the year: winning field position, improving our defensive output and being really good at the attacking breakdown.

“We’ll see how that develops as the season goes on, but at the moment it’s about concentrating on the fundamentals and creating opportunities through consistency.”

Player(s) to watch:

“Oskar Enasio had a really good season with us last year. He has big wraps on him, and I think he’s growing into a very good player,” Cockbain said.

“He’s got a fair bit of X-factor and can play across the back three.”

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

“I think Easts look really strong,” Cockbain said.

“And Souths have recruited well. If they get their game going, they’ll be tough to stop.

“They’re both big sides as well, there’s a lot of size in those squads which always makes them dangerous.

“So I’ll go with Easts and Souths.”