Personally extremely excited for next years competition, thought I would give a quick ladder prediction heading into the season, obviously major changes will come with finalised team lists, injuries, etc. But an early prediction never hurt anyone;
1. SCOTS - Would love to place the Blue and White for their first premiership since 2006 but I have to give it to the boys from Bellevue Hill, an (almost) full returning back line and returning forwards is always going to be hard to beat and with major depth bound to be in the 2nd XV SCOTS are most definitely the team to beat going into next year.
2. SHORE - Call me bias, I truly believe SHORE should be one of the main challengers for the cup next year, five year 11s all returning and all five are great shouts for GPS 1s and beyond in terms of rep teams, also a 16s age group which have come good in recent years, placing well in this years competition, my only struggle with picking SHORE is a potential lack of depth, however this is one of the Blue and Whites best shots to win the title for the next few years (Until the wonderkid 13As...)
3. RIVERVIEW - Not too much to say about RIVERVIEW here, always a strong side and their 16As have been dominant throughout the competition, led by Gus Grover among others, not familiar enough with the current year 11s if I'm being truthful, however completely expect Hartman to be one of the best players in the GPS and most definitely my pick for most tries in the comp this year.
4. JOEYS - The most feared school in the GPS and it has been that way for years, fully expect these boys to win some massive games at home (Hoping it is another Home and Away season), however the current year 11s are not strong enough to compete with some of the other teams who boast some strong year 12s, the only saving factor from the spoon this year is their exceptional year 10 cohort, who will mostly dominate the 1st XV in my opinion, this will be a building year to come into the 2025 as the obvious favourites.
5. KINGS - Looking at some of the team lists I feel KINGS could be a slight dark horse for the premiership this season, a team which mostly features Year 12s is always going to be strong, however their 1st XV last year was dominated by now graduates and that is always difficult for chemistry, particularly in the early games of the season where I expect them to falter but pick themselves up and win a few big games in the second half of the season, however if they win some games early do not be surprised if they jump up the ladders.
6. NEWINGTON - Unfortunately NEWINGTON is my pick for the spoon, a team with lacklustre Year 11s and while their current Year 10s feature some good players, it is not enough for me to justify them beating out any other teams, not much for me to say here some talent is obvious such as Makasani, Cleverly and Rodwell, NEWINGTON should be above the spoon spot however I don't have faith in their rugby program in general, the talent is there but I don't trust the program.
My wrap up for next year, don't be surprised to see SCOTS take the cake, SHORE among others will be good contenders but SHOREs backline looks lacklustre unfortunately in my eyes, apart from a few standouts, the forward pack will be top 2 in the GPS but can't justify them over SCOTS, KINGS are my dark horse pick for the year and looking forward to next years season.
Collector.