A little over seven months since Warringah claimed the 2025 Shute Shield premiership in emphatic style at Leichhardt Oval, the 2026 season will kick off this weekend.

Rugby News spoke to all 12 coaches to find out how they’ve spent the summer months and what we can expect from their side this season.

Warringah:

2025: Premiers

After leading Warringah to two premierships in the last decade, one as a player and the other as head coach, Josh Holmes has retained the majority of his squad for this year’s title defence.

Sydney Uni are the only team to defend their title in the last 10 years (2018 and 2019), which suggests the Rats will need to kick up a gear again to lift the Shute Shield again in early September.

Overview with Josh Holmes: 

“I think it was a positive coming off a premiership last year to have the Australian Club Championship to play for early on to give the boys an incentive to train hard through preseason,” Holmes said. 

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Eastern Suburbs: 

2025: Grand finalists (lost to Warringah 37-24)

After falling just short in last year’s grand final, Ben Batger has welcomed back the lion’s share of his squad – minus two Waratahs – for the 2026 season.

Batger said he’s reminded his players over the summer of the opportunity they’ve got to play at “the best club in club rugby.”

Overview with Ben Batger: 

“Things are looking good so far. We had a meeting the other day and I tried to show the boys where we’re at,” Batger said. 

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Northern Suburbs: 

2025: Preliminary finalists (lost to Warringah 38-22)

On the back of two straight grand final appearances, Norths got hot late last year and won eight matches heading into the prelim against eventual premiers Warringah.

While the Shoremen finished up a week earlier than they would have liked, Norths coach Zak Beer has welcomed back the majority of last year’s squad and added further class ahead of the 2026 season.

Overview with Zak Beer: 

“We’ve had a good, productive summer,” Beer told Rugby News. 

“After 2024 we lost 17 of our 23 from the grand final squad to retirement or pro rugby.

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Eastwood:

2025: Preliminary finalists (lost to Eastern Suburbs 33-19)

Former NRL coach Anthony Griffin has taken the lead at TG Millner and will unveil a new look side in round one, following the departure of the Woodies’ previous coach and a handful of first graders.

Eastwood’s move to their new home has also been pushed back, meaning Shute Shield fans can look forward to a few more afternoons at Marsfield.

Eastwood are yet to respond to interview requests. 

Hunter:

2025: Semi finalists (lost to Warringah 43-27)

Hunter returned to the finals in 2025 but weren’t thrilled with the backend of their season.

Now in the club’s seventh season back in the competition, the Wildfires are well and truly established and making an impact on and off the rugby field in their region.

Overview with Darren Coleman:

“Like most teams, you always feel like you have done the hard work over summer and at this point of the year, everyone is always excited about the promise the season holds,” Director of Rugby Darren Coleman told Rugby News.

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Randwick:

2025: Semi finalists (lost to Eastern Suburbs 4o-19)

Despite a horror run of injuries, Randwick fought their way to the first week of the finals with a young group in 2025 and will be hoping to push further into the playoffs later this year.

Tragically, the club lost one of its most loyal members late last year and head coach Shaun Berne said things still don’t quite feel right at Coogee Oval.

Overview with Shaun Berne:

“It was a pretty tough summer for our club after we lost our first grade manager Peter Meagher (in the Bondi terror attacks). It was a tragedy for everyone involved and it really hit our community hard,” Berne said.

“A lot of clubs survive on people like Peter, who commit themselves to the club. He’d just been there forever, so for him not to be around anymore, it’s a hole you can’t really fill. I know every club has one or two of those people and he was that person for us, so it’s going to be tough for a while without him.

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Gordon: 

2025: 7th

2025 Eastwood coach David Telfer returned to Gordon – his junior club – over summer and has been busy on the recruitment front.

The Stags fell just short of finals footy last season and will be keen to push deeper into the playoffs with Telfer in charge.

Overview with David Telfer:

“It’s been an interesting few months, that’s for sure but to be honest, all of my attention has been going towards Gordon,” Telfer told Rugby News. 

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Sydney Uni:

2025: 8th

Shute Shield winning coach John Manenti has taken the reigns at Sydney Uni and is planning to drive the Students back to the top of the competition by reducing the structure around his young group.

Uni finished eighth last season, but seem to be one of the teams all rival coaches are talking about ahead of round one.

Overview with John Manenti: 

“I played the back half of my rugby career at Uni after I played at Wests, so it’s nice to be back and I’m excited for the challenge. There’s a fair bit to do here but I feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” Manenti said. 

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Western Sydney:

2025: 9th

There’s been a restructure over summer at Merrylands with Sailosi Tagicakibau shifting to the Director of Rugby role and working across both grade and colts moving forward. 

Tagicakibau will still be keeping a close eye on first grade though and thinks the Two Blues need to go back to playing to their strengths in 2026. 

Overview with Sailosi Tagicakibau: 

“A lot of hard work has gone in over summer to get us to this position, and there’s been a lot of sacrifices over the last few years at the club,” Tagicakibau told Rugby News. 

“We’re still not the finished product, but we’re going in the right direction. 

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Manly:

2025: 10th

After a disappointing start to the 2025 season, Manly bounced back and challenged most at the back end of last year.

Sam Lane returns for his second season in charge at Manly Oval and will be supported by some experienced assistant coaches and a fairly handy looking top squad on paper.

Overview with Sam Lane:

“Well, we’re undefeated in 2026 so far so things are looking great,” Lane joked. 

“But we have had a really good preseason.

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Southern Districts:

2025: 11th

What’s that saying about what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, well Southern Districts head coach Scott Fava can certainly relate to that.

After embarking on a complete rebuild at Forshaw Rugby Park last year, things seemed to be heading in the right direction.

Overview with Scott Fava: 

“The focus is on staying disciplined—making sure we invest in the right areas and don’t fall into the trap of spending money in the wrong places,” Fava told Rugby News.

“A big priority is strengthening the pathway between our juniors and Colts into senior rugby.”

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West Harbour:

2025: 12th

After taking over as head coach midway through last season, Ben Rutherford has had a full summer to work with his troops ahead of the 2026 season.

The Pirates have also welcomed back Cameron Orr on a full-time basis who has already had an impact at Concord on and off the field.

Overview with Ben Rutherford:

“I’ve been happy with our trial form, we’ve been kicking along nicely and slowly building,” Rutherford told Rugby News.

“We’re not going to turn things around overnight, but we’re chipping away at it.”

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