Matt Barr says the despair of another near miss would provide the motivation for Southern Districts as the club continue to chase their maiden Shute Shield title.
The Rebels start their 2018 campaign when they host Penrith at Forshaw Rugby Park on Saturday. Souths will have a handful of new faces on show but will be without experienced trio Dewet Roos, Luke Smart and Rohan Saifoloi through injury.
Roos and Smart are recovering from knee and foot injuries respectively suffered last season, while Saifoloi is expected to miss at least a month after picking up a knee injury in pre-season. But those losses aren’t expected to hurt Souths against an Emus team tipped to struggle.
The Rebels have gone close to an inaugural title a number of times in recent years. They won nine matches in a row to finish second and earn the right to host Northern Suburbs in their preliminary final last season, only for Eastwood’s upset win over minor premiers Manly conspiring to eliminate the Rebels when they fell to Norths.
Barr, in his fifth year as first grade coach, told the Leader the heartbreak from previous seasons had worked as motivation over the summer.
“We’re feeling really excited about 2018 I suppose because of our disappointing finish to 2017,” he said.
“The boys are all really motivated to make 2018 our year. And it’s not just last year but the last few years we’ve gone close to the prize but fallen short.
“It’s an ongoing thing but at the same time it’s an extremely difficult competition to win. Three different clubs have won it in the last three years which shows how healthy the Shute Shield is.”
Souths have lost prop Salesi Ma’umalanga (Sydney University), Sama Malolo (Melbourne Rebels) and star hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Queensland Reds) but made a number of strong signings.
Prop Shambeckler Vui has moved from Western Australia and is also in the Waratahs squad, utility back Christian Kagiassis has joined from Sydney Uni while Souths have signed 2017 NSW Country player of the year Andrew Selwood.
Barr acknowledged while there was pressure to deliver a first premiership for the club, he believes he has the squad to again be in the mix.
“You realise this playing group have been around a fair while now. You do feel that pressure, not of the opportunity slipping or that the window is closing. But there is pressure for every club,” he said.
“We’ve been consistent every year. We’ve finished second the last two years which means we’re not far off. You’ve got to make the semis and then win three games which is a hard thing to do.
”Like life you’re constantly growing and improving. We’ve learnt a lot from the last few years. I remember that 2015 grand final against Eastwood we were a relatively young side but they had players who were experienced at Shute Shield level and higher.
“You could see the maturity and experience they’d gained along the way which put them in good stead to win a premiership. We’re entering that stage and with our maturity and experience I expect this year could be our turn to win the title.”
