Former Australia A flanker Brad Wilkin is devoting 2026 to a full-on premiership bid with Easts in the Sumo Energy Hospital Cup.
The polish and experience of the former Melbourne Rebels captain will be a major plus for the Tigers when the season kicks off on Saturday. He will be in the backrow to play Wests at Bottomley Park.
The Wilkin story is typical of what grassroots rugby is all about and why every new season ignites such excitement with the potential, dreams and motivations of players and clubs.
The tapestry is so varied. You have players returning from the professional ranks like Wilkin, club stalwarts like Matt Gicquel (GPS) and Conor Mitchell (University of Queensland), tyros like Vaiuta Latu (Brothers) who are capable of changing the comp later in the season, fresh teen talents like Trent Picot (Souths), intriguing recruits like former Samoan fullback Elisapeta Alofipo (Wests), fringe Super Rugby types with an edge like pacy Will McCulloch (Norths) and any number of unsung props who are invaluable to their club's chances. The list goes on.
All come together to give the Hospital Cup the energy it has which is fitting this season with a new competition sponsor, Sumo Energy.
For every club on a high like first-time premiers Bond University, there are former heavyweights like UQ and Sunnybank trying to find their way back to the finals.
Brothers are Brothers. They have set the standard in so many areas over the past century. That's why beating them always carries so much extra meaning and why the Brethren harness that "us against the world" mentality as a potent force.
Is this the year that Norths make their mark? The question hasn't even been asked in many of the past 40 seasons. Something strong and lasting is happening at Hugh Courtney Field with coach Dan Ritchie and new Director of Rugby Phil Mooney. The 71-19 thrashing of UQ in April last year resonated across the whole competition. The club won five times in first grade and could have won more. Upsetting Easts twice in 2024 was another pointer.
There are new coaches aplenty with Adrian Thompson (Souths), Jim McKay (UQ), Matt Cockbain (GPS) and Rex Tapuai (Sunnybank) at the helm. All are accustomed to success in rugby so they will challenging some of the more fancied clubs.
At 30, Wilkin wants to give back to the club where his career started straight out of Iona College.
The classy flanker would have played more of a role last year but he wasn't able to play enough games to qualify for the finals series after returning from a stint in Major League Rugby in the US.
A merger deal for his San Diego Legion team in California and the tightening of foreign player signings cut off that avenue for this year.
"There was a lot of emotion and uncertainty when the Rebels folded. Now, another of my clubs in San Diego is no more which is not easy," Wilkin said.
"With Easts, I want to give back to the club where I got my first chance. I'm really looking forward to it."
Wilkin has plenty more good rugby to give as does recruit Ed Fidow, the Samoan Test winger who has played professionally in France, the US, Japan, England and New Zealand since his rush of tries on the wing for Wests in 2017.
The Tigers were major improvers in 2025 and sat at No.1 for a lengthy period in the minor premiership race before bowing to eventual premiers Bond University in the preliminary final.
There is the whiff of unfinished business at Tigerland.
Influential halfback Eli Pilz has resisted urges to finish up and will commute from his new home on the Sunshine Coast to be part of the Tigers' quest.
The Bull Sharks from Bond look a fairly complete side again with former Souths skipper Kohan Herbert as a big backrow recruit.
The competition is just as fierce in the women's ranks with four-time premiers Bond University happily wearing a target in the Sumo Energy Founders Cup.
Grand finalists Easts will be willing rivals again as will perennial challengers Sunnybank.
It's great to see GPS with a women's team back on the map and Reds halfback Sarah Dougherty returning to the club with the chance to clock up the 100-game milestone.
Under new broadcast arrangements, there will be a free-to-air Hospital Cup game screened weekly on 9GEM (streamed on 9NOW) in Queensland on top of the excellent Stan Sport coverage of each game.
The Easts vs Wests match gets the TV treatment on Saturday followed by the GPS vs Brothers game in Round 2. For at least one player, that means a fresh haircut for his TV appearance.
That's club rugby at its finest.
