Hunter returned to the finals in 2025 but weren’t thrilled with the backend of their season.

Now in the club’s seventh season back in the competition, the Wildfires are well and truly established and making an impact on and off the rugby field in their region.

Overview with Darren Coleman:

“Like most teams, you always feel like you have done the hard work over summer and at this point of the year, everyone is always excited about the promise the season holds,” Director of Rugby Darren Coleman told Rugby News.

“We started a little later than we did in 2025 in the hope that we can be a little fresher at the back end of the season then tried to have good variety throughout the pre-season across field work, beach sessions and different activities like army camps.

“Last year we made good progress in first grade and across the club overall in terms of results and culture but we were obviously disappointed with our last few games in first grade.

“The round 17 loss to Gordon – when we had a good lead and then lost after the bell – that was ultimately our downfall.

“That is the difference between champion teams and also-rans, the ability to close out close games.

“In saying that, we were able to help quite a few of our players on to play at a higher level and for some on to professional rugby.

“Our second grade side finished the season well and we had great success in our women’s program so there was lots to be positive about.

“Compared to our inaugural season, the club has come a long way. We now have three full time staff and our colts are progressing steadily and are pushing towards finals.

“We are seeing less of the Hunters’ talented school leavers choose Sydney clubs over us and we’ve got great alignment with our junior association up here.

“We’re continuing to build our relationship with the senior clubs and probably still have to mend a few bridges. But a few years back, most of those clubs didn’t think Hunter should have a team in the Shute Shield. We continue to make a lot of progress in that space, which is great for rugby in our region.”

2025: 5th

Ins: Phil Bradford (returning – MLR), Max Sawers (Western Force), Kyle Steeves (Canada), Sau Vaihu (QLD), Taufa Kinkini (returning), TJ Talailvea (returning – Barker College), OJ Noa (returning – MLR), Titi Nofoagatotoa (Western Force), Eyda Haisila (Melbourne), Aisea Hola (Moana Pasifika), Tom Watson (returning – England), Mone Ma’afu (QLD), Riley Langfield (Warringah).

Outs: Bo Abra (Warringah), Sam Tufuga (retired), Kirk Tufuga (retired), Mesu Kunavula, Daniel Maivia (Japan), Donny Freeman (Ireland), Huw Taylor (England), Ueta Tufuga (retired), Sione Taufui (West Harbour), Peta Alofipo (Samoa), Tom Aaoke (retired).

What style of rugby will we see from Hunter this year?

“It’s hard to really nail down a particular style of play until you see the quality of your players and we ended up having more turnover in our first grade team than we were hoping for.

“We’ll wait and see how some of those new players perform in the early rounds before we lock in a specific style of play.

“We all know how we like to view the game but you need to cater to the strength of your group.”

Player(s) to watch:

“Phil & TJ Talaileva have shown great trial form,” Coleman said excitedly.

“Phil is another year older and mature now and I think he can be one of the most damaging edge forwards in the game.

“Unfortunately he picked up a trial game injury though, so he’ll be a late starter for us.
“TJ is his little brother and has been exceptional as a school leaver over summer. He stood out in the trials will play first grade as an 18-year old forward which is no mean feat.

“They are both local boys as well which is also great for the club.”

Who will Hunter play in the grand final?

“I think Uni and the Two Blues will be the big improvers,” Coleman predicted.

“My old mate Matty Glascott at Gordon has also thrown the cats amongst the pigeons on the recruitment space and Norths have added a splash of sky blue to their kits for 2026.

“I think Easts and Rats may potentially struggle with the expectation. History shows it’s hard to go year after year in this competition.

“Considering that, I think we’ll play an MLR-turbo boosted Randwick side in the grand final where they’ll refuse to kick the ball.

“Regardless though, I can’t wait for another great season of the Shute Shield.”