By Adam Sheldon

While the 2025 Hospital Cup season is only in its infancy, with two rounds played, there have already been some surprising results, headlined by Norths 52-point thrashing over UQ last weekend. 

Norths, who finished seventh last year with only four wins, came into last weekend’s fixture as underdogs against a UQ side who won 10 games last year, and went all the way to the 2024 preliminary final.

The storyline of early-season turnarounds is continuing at Easts, who have started the season with two wins, including upsetting Wests – last season’s grand finalists – in round two. 

Its results like this that have Brothers’ captain Will Wilson calling this year’s competition the most open in recent memory. 

“You only need to look to the weekend with Norths absolutely flogging UQ, and the same with Easts beating Wests – no one saw these results coming. It shows that it’s a really open competition this year,” Wilson told Rugby News.

“These are two teams which were at the lower end of the table last year but they have turned it around this season.

“Across the board, it really looks like anyone can beat anyone, and there’s no easy games this season.”

Easts turnaround has been so significant, that Brothers’ captain believes Easts are the biggest obstacle in the way of his side winning its third consecutive premiership.

“They are a genuine threat. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the season pans out,” Wilson said. 

Over at Norths, Michael Bell says the side’s early season thrashing of UQ isn’t a fluke, but rather the first examples that their long-term blueprint for success was starting to work. 

“We want to win the Hospital Cup every year but we have to be realistic given where we have come from,” he said.

“We have bottom-up approach which means we focus on building a humming first grade through having a strong juniors and colts, and bringing them up the grades. 

“We have a good relationship with local schools and we have set up a local academy. The results are starting to show. Of the side who ran out in the weekend, 14 out of 23 played Norths juniors and colts.”

Another part of Norths’ blueprint is chasing quality recruits like hooker Moses Armstrong-Ravula, with the Fijian-monster already looking solid this season.

“Our post season reviews showed us when Super Rugby ended, we had no Super Rugby players coming through and the ones we did landed at other clubs and played against us,” Bell said. 

“It was quite obvious when Super Rugby ended and the non-Wallabies returned to the comp, the other teams got stronger, and we got weaker.

“We addressed that last year with some timely recruits who helped the boys who had been plugging away week after week, year after year, and it showed in our late season results for 2024.

“We have added a few players in the offseason. I think it’s a fair statement to say anyone can beat anyone this year.”