Billy Melrose's Gordon side came agonisingly close to winning two straight Shute Shield premierships, on either side of the Covid cancelled 2021 season. The Stags were level with Sydney Uni in the final minutes of the grand final, but couldn't quite find a way to cap what was a remarkable back end of the 2022 season. Overview with Billy Melrose: "The first half of the season was fairly challenging for a number of reasons and we certainly had our fair share of close losses,” Melrose told Rugby News. “I was always confident that things could turn if we stuck at it and as it turned out we went on a great run through the second half of the season and into the finals.   “We put ourselves under a lot of pressure from the position we were in at the mid point of the season and it was almost finals like footy for the last few months. But somehow we managed to get through a tough back end and play some of our best rugby in the finals.   “Confidence is the biggest