Randwick coach Ben McCormack is confident his young group is ready to match it with the big boys and challenge for a spot at the pointy end of the Shute Shield ladder this season.

A young Randwick side, minus their contracted players who spent most of last season in a Super Rugby bubble, were mid-table when the competition was postponed and then cancelled in 2021.

“To be fair, I wasn’t unhappy with how we performed last year,” McCormack said.

“I thought we were having a reasonable season and had plenty of footy left in us. We had a largely young group and we were able to debut a number of young guys who were very good colts players.

“I thought some of those guys did a great job and it was great to give them that exposure to first grade footy.”

McCormack said he has much higher expectations for his side this season, following on from last year’s experiences and said he expected a handful of his ‘older, young’ guys to stand out this year.