He’s coached at just about every Shute Shield club in Sydney over the past two decades, but dual-premiership winning mentor Darren Coleman said his role at the Hunter Wildfires is different to anything he’s experienced in Sydney club rugby before. 

“It’s hard to draw comparisons because we’re a newer club and we’re focussed on developing and building structures that will provide a pathway for country players to professional rugby,” Coleman told Rugby News during the week. 

“There’s a lot of work to do but at the moment we’re trying to set up structures that are as good as, if not better, than anyone else in the competition. 

“We want the best facilities, the best coaches, the best rugby program and we want to provide the best life opportunities for our players, through Newcastle Uni or by doing a trade.”

Coleman will share the coaching duties with his brother and first grade head coach Scott in 2025, while overseeing the development of the next generation of Wildfires.

“Andrew Cleverley from the Waratahs has been up here this week to help us launch our ‘New to Blue’ program, which targets the 20 best 15 and 16 year old kids from the Central Coast to Musselbrook. 

“Then next week, we’re launching another program ‘Wildfire Way’ that will see 25 Hunter kids that are attending boarding schools in Sydney take part in a two-month holiday program that we’re putting on to develop and connect with our local kids who are away at school.

“In the past, kids have gone to school in Sydney and never come back and that’s something we want to change. We won’t retain every player, but we’re going to give it a good crack. 

Hunter are planning to field six teams in 2025, with two sides in each of the grade, colts and women’s competitions next season. 

“I think it’s a good balance. At the start, the other clubs told us that they wanted Hunter to field a team in all grades and colts. But it’s just cost prohibitive. 

“We’re already spending more than $60,000 every season on buses so there’s just no way we could afford to send seven teams to Sydney eight or nine times a year. 

“Having a second colts team will make our Colts 1 team stronger and allow more local kids to experience Shute Shield rugby straight out of school, so we’re really looking forward to that in 2025.”