Another big season of StoreLocal Hospital Cup action has arrived. As like any season, a lot has changed since Brothers lifted the cup at Ballymore last August. To mark the new season, we've cast our eye on some key storylines that could shape the season ahead.
The Gallopers farewelled Cris Kuridrani, Michael Richards, Josh Collins and Jake Straker over the summer with the trio all calling time on their tenured first-grade careers. The quartet have 300+ first grade caps combined with GPS so the question remains how the side will replace this sizeable hole in the squad.
Heeno is back on the Hospital Cup scene and will no doubt have his eyes set on creating history with the Bullsharks. After 10 Grand Final appearances in 14 seasons at the Red Heavies, Heeno certainly has what it takes to help Bond go further – will that happen in 2024 though?
Souths were among the biggest improvers of the Hospital Cup in 2023 and remained in finals contention until late in the season. Scalps against Easts at home, with their set piece humming, proved the Magpies have what it takes against finals-calibre teams, and another pre-season under coach Garrick Morgan could be what it takes to lift them into the top four.
After impressing at fullback in 2023, Meli Dreu has been afforded a greater role in the Tigers’ set up this coming year and is set to feature for Easts at flyhalf. Dreu led the Tigers for carries last season while also putting up 50 points (four tries, four penalties, 13 conversions) but may be required to be at his defensive best in midfield in place of Jake Pappin, who led the team for tackles.
It’s no secret that going back-to-back is no easy feat in the Hospital Cup – there’s a reason no team has done so in two decades of course. It won’t be easy, but Brothers haven’t lost too much talent from their 2023 Premiership side and are tipped to be up there once again this season.
The coaching carousel saw five new head coaches appointed ahead of the season with Brothers, Bond, Easts, GPS and Norths all shuffling the deck with coaching personnel. Ben McCormack (Brothers), Simon Craig (Easts), Mick Heenan (Bond), Sio Kite (GPS) and Daniel Ritchie (Norths) will be eager to make their mark on Saturday as the season gets underway.
Kohan Herbert broke onto the scene in his first Hospital Cup season with Souths, finishing fifth in the competition for tackles and third in the Alec Evans Medal. His performances earned a train and trial deal with the Rebels in the Super Rugby pre-season but he is now back at Chipsy Wood Oval. So, with a pre-season with a Super Rugby team under his belt and the addition of Toutai Kefu as defence coach, Herbert could be even better in 2024.
One of the competition’s most promising halfbacks will swap the black and white for the butcher’s stripes in 2024 with Willem Johnstone moving to Brothers on the eve of the season. A member of the Reds Academy, Johnstone is undoubtably talented but will now face stiff competition from incumbent No.9 Isaac Tarabay and Mosiah Christian, who is expected to return from injury midway through the season.
Talking about club swaps, a number of Queensland Reds have also opted for a change of scenery in 2024. Richie Asiata, formerly of Easts, is set to ply his trade with Sunnybank while Connor Vest will head to Souths from UQ.
Pat Morrey has been a stalwart for the Red Heavies for some time now but has decided against pulling on the boots this season. With Morrey out, coach Elton Berrange has turned to playmaker Brad Twidale to lead the side. Twidale finished second in the competition for points scored last year and was among the Hospital Cup’s most consistent performers. One who is likely to lead from both his actions and words, it’ll be intriguing to see how Uni rebounds from their injury-plagued 2023 season with Twidale leading from the front.
While they’re unlikely to feature until later in the season, Norths have bolstered their playing stocks with some overseas flavour in the form of Reds duo Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and Cormac Daly. Should the pair get on the park with Norths, the Eagles will get a much-needed lift in their set piece.
A quick whip around with the QPR’s captains quickly settled on a consensus that Bond was the most difficult team to play away. Of course, as the only club not in Brisbane, the travel to the Gold Coast will undoubtedly play a factor – and that’s before you even take the field. Bond lost just one game at home last season – a Round 10 matchup against Wests which saw the Bulldogs run in four second half tries – meaning the Bullsharks have already done most of the heavy lifting in making their home the most difficult venue to win at.
Often one of the younger squads in the Hospital Cup, Norths will have a bevy of talented youngsters to lean on this year. The opening rounds of the season will see nearly half of the top-grade side as graduates of the Colts program. The likes of Will McCulloch, Connor O’Regan and Jack Hussey will have a big say in how the Eagles fare on field in 2024.
Gicquel played just a handful of games for the Gallopers in 2023 after returning from France yet still won the team’s Best and Fairest award. Arguably in the top three openside flankers in the competition in the back half of the season, one wonders what a full season of Gicquel at Yoku Road could look like.
Simon Craig wasted no time in acquiring the services of tighthead Massimo De Lutiis at Tigerland in 2024 after the latter signed with the Reds after two years with the Brumbies academy. The 128kg De Lutiis is still young but will likely feature for the Tigers early after recovering from a quadricep injury suffered on the first day of pre-season. He’ll likely form a potent front-row partnership with fellow Junior Wallaby Max Craig at some stage.
Sunnybank will welcome back Liam McNamara to the fold this season after several seasons away in Ireland. The former Alec Evans Medallist has been given the keys to the 10 position and his importance to the Dragons may not be understated. Sunnybank ranked last in the 2023 competition for total points and will likely look towards McNamara to steer the side up field and offer more opportunities to take points.
We’ll be forced to wait until Round 7 to watch the rematch of last year’s decider between Brothers and Wests. As with any showdown from one year to another, there’ll likely be a hefty amount of personnel changes between the games, but that won’t stop the Bulldogs faithful from willing their side on to earn some degree of retribution against the side that won the Hospital Cup form them last September by just two points.
While some things stay the same, other things change. At Sylvan Road, the Bulldogs have seen a slight reshuffle amongst their back stocks with Ben Navosailagi (nine tries) heading overseas while Cullin Cooper-Jones (Canberra) and Cooper Whiteside (Shute Shield) – Wests’ leading point scorer in 2023 – have also sought pastures new. No doubt the Bulldogs have the reinforcements, including former Wallaby Henry Speight, to replace them, but it could make for an intriguing Round 1 team list.
University aren’t often down, and when they are, it’s often not for long. After a Grand Final appearance in 2022, the Red Heavies won just six games in 2023. Injuries played a sizeable role as the squad rolled through 56 players in first grade last season – the most of any club. Scalps such as against Wests at home show they weren’t far off the mark, so how will they respond this campaign?
A star for Wests last season, hooker Dobbins earned a Super Rugby contract with the Rebels and has since made his debut. While with the side, he’ll likely be unavailable for Wests for the opening portion of the Hospital Cup season, meaning the Bulldogs will need to replace his presence that was at the core of their 2023 success. In all, he scored 11 tries as the potent Wests maul rolled on.
It’s been all but a quiet off-season for Sunnybank with two of their players earning international call ups. Alex Niedzwiecki and Dylan Rowe were called up for the Poland and Croatian national rugby teams, respectively, and will no doubt benefit from experience at a higher level.
A big reason why Bond enjoyed their most successful season ever in 2023, Stowers and Roberts when combined, were nearly unstoppable. Both are blessed with an innate speed and deft change of direction. Defences struggled against the pair (just look at Stowers against Souths at Chipsy Wood or Roberts against GPS at Yoku Road). No other two players scored more points for their teams than Stowers (65) and Roberts (168) We hope the pair are in for another big year in 2024.
We saw in 2023 the potency that Lawson Creighton produced for Brothers as he and a strong Super Rugby contingent powered the Brethren to another title. In just 10 games including finals, Creighton scored nine tries, nailed home 55 conversions and finished fourth in the Alec Evans Medal. Who will be the player who steers their side to finals this time around?
There have been some Hospital Cup seasons over the past decade where the top four has taken shape early. Don’t expect 2024 to be one of them. There were six clubs in the hunt for a semi-final spot for much of 2023 and that should be the case again. There really is no outright favourite which makes it all the most fun.
Time for kick-off.
