Click here: Shute Shield’s 50 most influential players

As the players take a well deserved break over the June long weekend, we spoke to all 12 Shute Shield coaches and asked them what they would grade their side’s start to the season.

Plus we asked them what part of their game they are looking to improve in the remaining rounds and what needs to happen before finals to consider the regular season a success.

Next up, Norths, Souths and Western Sydney

Northern Suburbs – Zak Beer (3rd – 7 wins, 3 losses)

From A to E, how would you grade your opening 10 rounds and why?

I’d give us a B. 

We’re sitting with 7 wins and 3 losses at the halfway point of a tight comp. I think we’ve put in some good performances for patches of games, but like most teams, we’d like to see a more complete performance. 

What is the main area where you’d like to see improvement?

Consistency in capitalising once we’ve got momentum – and going on with it.

We’ve done it across a couple of games this year in converting momentum into points, but as we approach the pointy end and finals, those momentum swings are magnified. 

What do you need to do between now and the end of the regular season to consider the regular season a success?

Continue evolving and improving our game each week as we’ve been doing, along with keeping our squad fit and healthy for this second block of games.

Southern Districts – Jayson Brewer (11th – 3 wins, 7 losses)

From A to E, how would you grade your opening 10 rounds and why?

I’d give us a C and that C stands for consistency, which I think we’ve lacked at times. 

We’ve shown we can mix it with each team we have played – we just need more consistency with our execution and effort. If we get that right – results will start to shift. 

What is the main area where you’d like to see improvement?

Across the whole club we know we need to be patient in 2023. Defence has been a major focus as well as our new attack system – at times a combination of lack of quality ball and individual errors have add up in games and we ‘ve had to chase the game too much. You can’t doing that in a comp of this quality. Our three wins this year came  on the back of good defence and playing in the right areas of the field. 

What do you need to do between now and the end of the regular season to consider the regular season a success?

The break has given as a chance to freshen up a few bodies and we are now looking at a getting a few players back from injury. We’ve also blooded a number of local lads in first grade who have been impressive. 

Our focus over the next block is 100% our consistency of performance and belief which will hopefully add some more wins and see us finish higher up the table. Building depth across the club is also an area we need to focus on. 

Western Sydney – Sailosi Tagicakibau (8th – 4 wins, 6 losses) 

From A to E, how would you grade your opening 10 rounds and why?

It’s been a tough first half of the season and I’d grade us as a C. We’ve been competitive in every game and in a position to win those games but a lack of composure and discipline has let us down which is very frustrating. Playing the “Two Blues way” has its benefits which has kept us in the mix and allowed us to pick up 12 crucial bonus points from 10 matches. But finding a better balance will be the deciding factor on how far we go this year.

What is the main area where you’d like to see improvement?

Our set piece has been a bit rocky early on and we will need a more consistent performance here to launch our brand of rugby. Discipline in sticking to task and trusting the process will be key to closing out matches. We can be our own worst enemy at times and that has been identified as a key area of focus moving forward.

What do you need to do between now and the end of the regular season to consider the regular season a success?

If we can have a bit more composure and execute what we train, I believe that will get us a spot in the top six and for us finals footy is where we want to be. The Two Blues playing finals footy, just imagine…