The 2025 junior reps season kicks off this Saturday with the club’s teenage stars looking to leave their mark as they embark on the next step of their footballing journey.
The Illawarra Steelers will feature teams in SG Ball Cup (Under 19s boys), Tarsha Gale Cup (Under 19s girls), Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s boys) and Lisa Fiaola Cup (Under 17s girls) this year.
All four grades will be in action at Collegians on Saturday with the women’s teams hosting the Dragons in a pair of club derbies and the men’s sides facing Melbourne.
SG BALL CUP
A brutal injury toll sunk the Steelers SG Ball unit a year ago after Shaun Timmins’ men started the season on a four-game win streak.
Their campaign came to an end in the opening week of the finals with a hot Knights side proving too strong at Leichhardt Oval.
Timmins is again at the helm for Illawarra with fellow former-Dragon Mark Riddell his assistant.
A number of the Steelers’ big guns are back for 2025 including Kade Reed, Aaymon Fitzgibbon, and Tom Kirk who have spent time through the preseason training with the NRL squad.
Leeroy Weatherall, a firebrand forward who made his SG Ball debut in the side’s finals loss to Newcastle, will join the squad having also spent the preseason with the NRL outfit.
Lucas Borg, Drew Langdon, Zane Timmins and Charlie Heidke are among the other names who are back after featuring in the side a year ago.
Last year’s skipper Daniel Meafou also finds himself in the squad as he works his way back from a long-term knee injury.
Borg, Kirk, and new face Saifiti Junior Saifiti combine to make up a dangerous back three whilst Reed and Fitzgibbon will feature for Timmins’ side in the halves.
Wavell State High product Mason Phillips starts at hooker having come down at the end of the year whilst fellow Queenslander Connor Sadler has been named on the interchange.
Their season begins with a home clash against the Storm before finding themselves on the road to face Manly, Canberra, and the Warriors.
They’re back in Wollongong to meet the Magpies in Round 5 before hosting the Dragons at WIN Stadium the following weekend in an awaited showdown.
They finish their regular season with face-offs against Norths, Penrith, and Balmain.
TARSHA GALE CUP
The Steelers are fresh off a campaign in which they won all 10 of their matches en route to a dominant premiership win.
Nine members of their squad would go on to feature in Under 19s State of Origin for the Blues with seven also appearing in the NRLW.
Courtney Crawford is again at the helm with Scott Ashcroft her assistant for this season.
A number of players who were a part of Crawford’s premiership-winning side from 12 months ago have been named in this year’s squad including Kasey Reh, Indie Bostock, Herewaka Pohatu, Bronte Wilson, Rhian Yeo, Makayla McFayden and Maria Paseka.
Reh, Wilson, and Paseka all made their NRLW debuts in 2024 with the latter two helping lead Illawarra to a Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership title later in the year.
Crawford will also have an influx of younger talent at her disposal including Trinity Tauaneai and Tori Shipton who were a part of the Steelers’ Grand Final winning Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership side as well as Lisa Fiaola Cup standouts Kiara Kostovski, Seriah Palepale, Armani Taniora and Tahlia O’Brien.
They open their title defence at home against St George before a Round 2 bye.
Following that, they face the Bulldogs and Raiders before a Grand Final rematch against the Knights at Collegians.
The Steelers finish up their regular season with showdowns against Cronulla, Manly, Parramatta and the Roosters Indigenous Academy.
HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP
Illawarra will be looking to bounce back from a subpar campaign a year ago when they kick their season off against the Storm at Collegians.
Jamie Szczerbanik finds himself again at the helm with Jake Williams and Jy Clapham flanking him.
Creighton Meafou headlines the list of players returning from last year’s group alongside utility back Cooper Morrison, middle forward Mason Andrews, playmaker Tayler Humphries and front rower Mace Scofield.
Ollie Burton and Api Amone are among the other names tipped to make an impact whilst several players will look to make the leap up from last year’s Illawarra South Coast Andrew Johns Cup outfit including the likes of Jaxon Ballinger, Taj Barrett, Jett Brookfield and Jordan Barlow.
Burton finds himself at the back for the season opener with Humphries and Brookfield the halves and Asher Chapman the No.9.
Amone will look to lead the forward with Scofield and Andrews making up a fierce front row and Meafou and Barrett the back row.
Their campaign kicks off at home against Melbourne before a bye in Round 2 and then a trip to the nation’s capital to face the Raiders.
They travel across the ditch in Round 4 to meet with the Warriors before they host Western Suburbs in the lead-up to their awaited Round 6 matchup with St George.
Their run home sees them take on the Bears at home before matchups against the Roosters and Tigers away from home.
LISA FIAOLA CUP
The Steelers fell a game short of the Grand Final 12 months ago and will hope to improve on a year in which they lost just two of their nine outings.
Brad Reh again heads Illawarra’s Lisa Fiaola Cup group with Zac Ellul by his side.
The Steelers have a key group of players returning from last year’s squad including halves duo Ella Greatz and Skye Spencer, lock Michala Hardy, front rower Tahanni Kaufusi, centre-pairing Halle Barrett and Holly Czornobej, winger Halle Muik and back rower Jayda Lalic.
Reh will also have a collection of fresh faces at his disposal including Levini and Loata Latu, Ella Churchill, Charlotte Nicolson and Chloe Reh – younger sister of NRLW star Kasey.
The Steelers kick their season off with a key clash against St George in Wollongong before a bye the following week.
They face defending premiers Canterbury in Round 3 before clashes against South Sydney, Newcastle, and Cronulla.
They’re back at Collegians in Round 7 to host Manly before meeting with Parramatta and Central Coast to close the regular season.