Steelers generation next making up for lost time

Glenn Buffolin will return at the helm of the Steelers SG Ball side looking to go one better than a grand final defeat last season - the run to the decider spearheaded by now-NRL pair Talatau Amone and Tyrell Sloan.

Aaron McDonald will also reprise his role at Harold Matthews coach, while Alicia-Kate Hawke will continue her stint as Tarsha Gale Cup coach.

It's hopefully a return to some normality after the pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 season and brought a premature halt to club footy in June last year.

Matts coach McDonald said it's certainly simplified the coaching approach ahead of Saturday's season-opener against Cronulla.

"The big thing for me has been the uptake of basic core skills because they've essentially missed two years of football and two years of development," McDonald said.

"We've spent a lot of time in preseason going over those core skills to upskill all the guys to the level you'd expect them to be in this age group.

"The added layer this year is COVID, we've already lost a player from our round-one team because he got it the other day.

"It's really a week to week prospect in terms of what team we put on the field.

"Certainly this week the focus has been on ourselves and what we need to get right in order to perform."

McDonald will have the benefit of a handful of returning players, but the squad also boasts a host players from last season's Illawarra South Coast CRL Andrew Johns Cup squad.

"We've got a lot of guys that came out of the Andrew Johns side that made the grand final last year so a lot of these guys have played together in a rep system," McDonald said.

"It's a very different group this year but I've got three players returning who played last year as year-young players so there's a bit of continuity there. They know how I like to play which is good.

"It's exciting for us because we've got six year-young players in the squad this year so there's some young players that have a lot of potential there.

"They are young, they learn fast. I'm pretty excited about the potential of the side but, like any team, the test will come when we start playing games."

Hawke has been a mainstay as Tarsha Gale Cup coach, a division in which the Steelers have been a powerhouse, reaching the finals in every season and claiming the title in 2019.

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She'll have the benefit of a large returning class when things kick off on Saturday, though the broader squad boasts vastly different levels of experience.

"It's very diverse group this year," Hawke said.

"I've got some girls who've been in our system for up to five years now, then I jump from those top few to very new players to rugby league.

"I've had girls at our trials playing their first game of rugby league while they're trialing for a rep team, so it's been a big change in that regard.

"We've had to strip things back quite a lot to teach them those fundamentals but they really are little sponges. They love learning so that's been exciting to give them that opportunity.

"I've retained seven girls so I've got some really strong leaders that, with the age gap, have been a year young two years in a row.

"Now's a really good time for them to step up in that the top age and set those standards in their own game and in bringing those younger girls along."

The Illawarra region boasts a rich history in women's rugby league, something not lost on Hawke or her playing group.

"We talk a lot about not being happy with just putting that Steelers badge on," Hawke, also a member of the St Geirge Illawarra NRLW coaching staff, said.

"We speak often about how important it has been in women's rugby league, not just in the juniors but up to NRLW. It's something I've obviously been super passionate about.

"It's exciting to get that first rep jumper but they've quickly learned how committed you need to be to keep it. They're all really buying in now and the girls are all keen to develop.

"It's going to be a tougher year than some of our previous given the diverse group, but we're sticking to our motto of 'better than before'.

"As long as they're developing and improving every week that's all I can ask for."