Norths coach Zak Beer is hoping 2023 can finally deliver the club the Shute Shield title that has narrowly eluded them in previous years.
Norths have found themselves in contention in the last two seasons, only for circumstances largely out of their control to derail their campaign.
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“2021 we were having a great run ten games in and we got cut short due to COVID. 2022 we were minor premiers and fell to Gordon at Rat Park last year…we got hit pretty hard by injuries in that round 18 clash with Easts for the minor premiership, losing five of our starting 15," Beer explained
“The boys were pretty laser-focused on getting here. It’s been a couple of years in the making…we’re going to have close to 1000 first-grade caps in the 23, five who have played in Shute Shield Grand Finals.”
The minor premiers will enter Saturday's Final as the favourites after an electric finish to the season, winning 11 of their last 12 games.
The one they lost? Against opposition Randwick on home soil, which stung Beer and the squad.
“We beat them at Coogee and then they beat us home. We were well off our game," he admits.
“It was seven days after we beat Uni at home when they had their Wallabies back. We’ve got our full complement of guys back (for Saturday).
“The four games we’ve lost, we’ve had a chance to play Eastwood, Hunter and Manly again and correct that wrong. The last one to correct is Randwick.”
Beer is looking to follow in the footsteps of mentor and former Norths coach Simon Cron, who guided Norths to their last title in 2016.
“We’re really close. We caught up for breakfast about a month ago when he was in Sydney. He came to our game against Gordon at Chatswood and came into the sheds," Beer revealed.
“He’s respectful to this group in forming their own ideas so he’s been really good to me as a mentor as well."
Although Cron hasn't done his old side any favours, calling breakout star Max Burey on their trip to South Africa.
“No he didn’t (do us a favour),” Beer laughed.
“We had Max for a couple of games this year but the work Max did in the red and black in 2020-2022 springboard him to that level that we knew he could be and he has such a high ceiling where he can get to.”
Regardless, Beer is confident the cohesion of his line-up will prove the difference, heeding the lessons of past near-falls.
“Your most powerful recruitment tool is your playing group," he added.
“Guys like Henry O’Donnell, Jude Gibbs, Saxon Gillies who was wearing the green and captained the Colts, these guys have joined the program in what the players said and I think that speaks volumes.
“Very few players leave Norths which is good and what you want. That allows us to build that cohesion and we’re running out a new identical XV to what we ran out in the early rounds.”
