Things couldn’t have gone much better for Randwick in 2023. 

Under new head coach Steve Hoiles, the Galloping Greens won a first grade, third grade and fourth grade premiership at Leichhardt Oval in late August and claimed the Shute Shield grade club championship, fittingly named after late Randwick legend Jeff Sayle. 

It’s going to be a hard act to follow. But Holies says his playing group is as hungry as ever and ready to play with a target on their back at Coogee Oval this year. 

“The aim is obviously to try and be in the mix at the right time of the year again. 2023 was such a fantastic season for the club,” Hoiles told Rugby News.

“It was unreal to see the support the entire club got from the community and it was fantastic to see the joy that the success bought the club and the wider community. It meant a lot to a lot of people. 

“Having experienced it, there’s naturally a feeling around the club that we all want to experience it again but we also need to realise that all of that is a fair way away and we’ve got to focus on what in front of us through the preseason and through the early parts of the season before we start thinking about any of that.”

Hoiles said he learnt a lot from his first season as a Shute Shield head coach in 2023 and said he’s been pleased with what he’s seen on the training paddock over recent months. 

“The numbers were really strong late last year and that’s continued so far in 2024. Numbers form the basis of your depth across grade and colts and that looks positive so far. 

“I think the type of training you do over summer is also really important. You don’t want to be putting guys under too much stress in the early parts of preseason. 

“You want them working hard, that’s for sure, but it’s a very long preseason followed by a very long season. It’s very different to professional rugby and that was a big learning for me from last season.”

Everything seemed to go right for Randwick in 2023.

After losing in the opening week of an eight team playoff series in 2022, the Galloping Greens lost just four matches last season, and dropped just one of their previous 15 matches heading into the grand final against Norths. 

“We had really good depth but we also had very few injuries in 2023 and that created competition for positions right across the grades. 

“Most the time you need depth for injury insurance, but last year we were really lucky on that front. There was luck, but there was also some really good management by our medical guys and strength and conditioning staff.”

Five players from Randwick’s top squad of 25 players have taken up professional opportunities elsewhere on the back of the premiership, headlined by Irish lock Cormac Daly who signed with the Queensland Reds late last year. 

“We’re thrilled to see those players move on to professional opportunities,” the coach said. 

“That’s what Sydney club rugby is all about, your roster should look different from year to year if you are doing things right. 

“We’ve just got to work hard to develop players in certain positions, then be smart with some recruitment to plug any gaps we might have. 

“We’ve got a lot of guys who won lower grade premierships who are hungry to move up the grades, then we’ve got a team of second grade players who didn’t get a chance to play in a grand final last year and they are hungry to experience that as well, so we’re in a good position.”

Hoiles said he wanted to give players plenty of time to train their way into Randwick’s top squad through the early parts of 2024 and said he was keeping an open mind around exactly how his team will play this season. 

“I think there are a few key fundamentals that we need to continue to work on, but in terms of exactly how we are going to play, you can’t really determine that until you know what your top squad looks like. 

“You can only play a certain style if you have the players to do it and we’ve got a lot of guys pushing to be part of that top group at the moment.”

Randwick kick start their Shute Shield title defence with a road trip to play Hunter Wildfires in Newcastle on April 6 but Hoiles said it was still far too early in the year to be locking in any firm predictions for the season ahead. 

“It’s hard to ignore Norths after what they did this year, that’s an obvious one. I also don’t think University will have two poor seasons in a row. 

“But there have been some big changes at quite a few clubs and after seeing the success we had at Randwick this year, it does show that things can change fairly quickly. 

“You’d be foolish to rule anyone out at this stage. There are a lot of new coaches and there’s been a lot of player movement and that’s only going to add to the tightness of the competition.”