Despite dropping just two of their final nine encounters, Ben Woolf’s Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Dragons fell a lone competition spot out of the postseason.
Woolf was however encouraged by his side’s attitude, growth, and style of play throughout their campaign which had unearthed an array of young talent come its conclusion.
“It was a bit disappointing to not get to the finals in the end, but I thought we played well pretty consistently throughout the year,” Woolf said.
“Most games, we were in it. There were a couple that we probably blew the opportunity to win at the death during the season which ended up costing us finals, but I thought we played a good style of footy and that we were competitive every week and dealt with changes to the team late and those sorts of things.”
Of the 40 players called upon throughout the year, eight earnt promotions to the squad from Jersey Flegg level with five of the eight beginning the season playing SG Ball.
A half-dozen members of Woolf’s Round 1 side would find themselves playing NRL at some point in the year – a testament to the readiness that their coaching staff was able to instil in them.
“They did a good job those guys when they went up,” Woolf said.
“Some of those guys probably weren't in the plans to go up during the year, but they came back and worked really hard and never dropped their bundle, so to speak, and continued to rip in for the Cup team and invest themselves and got rewarded with promotions back up as a result.”
Whilst those transitioning between The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup and the NRL are most visible to supporters, it was the work of the stalwarts and part-timers that Woolf says buoyed the side throughout what was a gruelling 24-game campaign.
"There's some real talent and, on top of that, people with really good attitude and work ethic and a willingness to really get after games which I think will really help the club going forward."
The likes of Dylan Egan, Jonah Glover, Josh Coric, Savelio Tamale, Alec Tuitavake and Haele Finau were available for the team for virtually the entire year whilst part-timers Ben Johnson, Hayden Buchanan, and Tom Freebairn also played key roles throughout.
Tamale was named the side’s Player of the Year at the end-of-year awards with Glover taking home the Coach’s Award.
“[Jonah] was really important. He’s one of those halves that has the ability to get the team around the field and get your structure right and kick really well in system and those sorts of things. As the year went on, he really matured into that role,” Woolf said.
“Josh Coric had a really good year too coming back off an ACL injury. I thought he started to play some really good footy at the backend of the year and did a great job.
“Dyl's (Egan) not a flashy sort of player that is going to have a big impact in attack every week, but he gets through 40-to-50 tackles every week and his effort areas are outstanding… He was really important for us, and I think he's going to be a really important player for the club moving forward.
“The part-time boys as well did a great job. They were always available. Those guys take time off work to come in and train.”
Woolf believes that the work the squad put in this year will put them in good stead for 2025 and beyond as more emerging talent continues to hit the scene.
“The attitude and the way the whole group played, particularly the young kids, puts the club in a good position. There's some real talent and, on top of that, people with really good attitude and work ethic and a willingness to really get after games which I think will really help the club going forward,” he said.
“I think the club's in a really good position with young juniors coming through and I think that, because a lot of those guys got a lot of experience this year, they're going to be experienced Cup players next year even though that they're young which is going to give them a really good platform and stepping stone up to NRL.”
