By Liam Cook

Norths’ most competitive outing for 2023 arguably came against Easts at Hugh Courtney Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a 45-23 loss, the Eagles have good reason to extract optimism from the weekend’s outing, according to coach Pat Byron.

“I was reasonably happy with our first 50 minutes, but then Easts got away from us,” Byron told Rugby News.

Amidst a challenging draw to start the season, including contests against a resurgent Souths and reigning premier Wests, the inexperienced side have been met with the toughest of tests to open the season.

With only one win under their belt in a 2022 season ravaged by injury, Norths are all too familiar with fighting against the odds.

“It was quite amazing how many injuries we had last year, we almost had a different team in round three than what started in round one, but that’s just the luck of the draw,” Byron said.

The team has largely faired better in the injury space thus far, although the greenness of the side is still leading to some inconsistency, including on Saturday.

“Like last week we had some really good patches, but set piece errors are hurting us, and this is something we need to improve quickly moving forward” Byron said.

In last year’s corresponding round four fixture, Norths conceded 50 points to Easts for just 19 of their own.

While it may not seem drastic, the incremental improvement is evident in already in 2023, particularly as young talents like Harry Langbridge and now injury free players, such as Jacob Prideaux, get more continuity at first grade level.

Individual progression has clearly been evident throughout the first three games, providing Byron with enthusiasm about how the team may combine their talents as the year progresses.

“I think our best players thus far have been Connor Higgins at seven, and Taelyn Nukunuku at flanker or number eight, and Jacob Prideaux is always up there with effort every game.”

Norths will be hoping for more contributors to emerge and propel them toward an ultra-competitive 2023 campaign.