Eastern Suburbs capped off another remarkable season in 2026, losing just twice on their way to a third consecutive Shute Shield Grand Final and a second premiership in three years under coach Ben Batger.

The Beasties overcame significant player turnover and injuries to defeat Warringah in the decider, while also claiming the minor premiership and club championship. But Batger insists there is still plenty of improvement ahead as Easts chase their first back-to-back premierships under his leadership.

Overview with Ben Batger:

“When you come off the back of a grand final loss, I think you always start the year just a little bit extra motivated. So I think that helped,” Batger told Rugby News.

“We had a really good pre-season, as is always the case with Easts.

“We had a high turnover of players with guys going overseas and guys getting professional deals. So we had a reasonably new squad, which creates a new energy in itself.

“The first goal was to get them to adapt, and once we did that, we found ourselves with a pretty handy football team throughout the year.

“We had a really good start to the year before a heavy loss to Sydney Uni, so that brought us back down to earth.

“I think the next five weeks after that was the best we played, and the best squad we had as well. We had a lot of our players back and went on this really golden run around rounds 11 to 15.

“Unfortunately, the injury bug hit us and we had guys taking contracts overseas.

“We lost what I think are the two best players in the competition. We lost Jamie Adamson to injury and Jack Bowen to a deal overseas.

“Add to that George Gibson leaving for a work opportunity, Michael Icely, Jack Tougher-Wells, Archie Gavin and hooker Jack Nelson all sidelined through injury, Kemu Valetini away on Test duty, and Henry Palmer and Viliame Fine heading overseas.

“So we lost a lot of players and certainly had a lot of injuries. 

“But what we were able to lean back on was the club’s depth, something we’ve been really proud of over the last few years.

“We’ve been strong in the lower grades and we’ve been strong in Colts, so we had a bit of a next-man-up mentality.

“We had really young kids like Tom Girle and Justice Taumoepeau come through and end up being excellent first graders.

“Then a lower grader like Bryn Davies came in and did a wonderful job in the last four rounds as our hooker.

“We were able to lean on a really good Colts system over the last few years and a really good lower-grade system to get us through those injuries.

“Ultimately, we won the competition, won the minor premiership and won the club championship, so it was a pretty bloody good year.”

What is the focus at Easts between now and round one next year?

“We’ve got to get better, because if we just rest on our laurels, every team is chasing us as the champions,” Batger said.

“They’re going to improve, so if we stay the same, they’re going to catch us.

“We’ve got to get better in every facet. Even though we were the number one attack, defence and set piece, we’ve got to get better in all those areas.

“We’ve got to evolve. It’s my job and the rest of the coaches’ job to stay with the times.

“Rugby changes quickly. Someone told me a week’s a long time in rugby, and we’re talking about nine months between seasons here in the Shute Shield.

“So we need to evolve and stay with the current trends.

“We’re going to replace quite a few players again as well. We’ve had a number of young guys pick up professional contracts, which is awesome.

“So we have to rebuild the squad as well. Recruitment will be an important part, but we’ve just got to evolve.”

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

“I’ll start with two of the older guys who have been here for all three grand finals,” Batger said.

“I think Reon Lowry and Josh Bokser are excellent footballers, and they’ve probably been pigeonholed as being too old for the next level.

“Reon’s an absolute beast of a man. There is no one better close to the tryline better than him which is such an important part of the modern game.  

“He plays a really physical game as well, which you don’t see from too many Australian props.

“Then Josh Bokser, people say he’s too light for the next level, but he plays like he’s 120 kilos.

“Then with the young guys coming through, I like the look of young Louis Fenwicke, the Colts fullback.

“He started in first grade against Eastwood and he’s a really good young talent coming through.

“Also Joshua Va’vaalotu, our number seven. He came in to fill the shoes of Jamie Adamson, but I thought he had an excellent year.

“He’s got a really high ceiling as one of those modern sevens who can not only fetch but also carry.

What are you expecting in 2027?

“Our expectation is to win it. It’s really clear and simple,” Batger said.

“I saw the Roosters say they only play for premierships, and I don’t know if it’s something in the Bondi water or something.

“You don’t want to sound arrogant, but that’s what we’ve been aiming for over the last couple of years, and we’ve been lucky enough to do that.

“So the expectation is to go and get it.

“We haven’t done back-to-back yet. We’ve made three grand finals, won two and we’ve got three club championships.

“But back-to-back is what we’re chasing, so that would be a nice goal.”