It's been a year of disruption, but Dragons NRLW head coach Jamie Soward is confident that is all behind him as he starts preparations for their 2024 campaign.
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There was a mass exodus of players from Wollongong ahead of this year's season, with a list of stars including former captain Kezie Apps and Dally M Medal winner Emma Tonegato departing for new opportunities.
However, speaking one-on-one with the Mercury, Soward is optimistic that there won't be repeat 12 months later.
Just days before they missed out on finals, St George Illawarra snapped up fullback Teagan Berry on a two-year extension - and she won't be the last to put pen to paper.
"Firstly, we'll take a breather, but we've got the bulk of our squad heavily in negotiation, if not done," Soward, who was this week unveiled as Samoa's new women's national coach, said.
"With the new teams potentially coming in, I think it's important to stick with what you know and believe in. We weren't too far away (this year), we just need to get better. For a lot of our young girls, it was the first time that they'd played NRLW - I think we had 13 or 15 debutants.
"We will have some money and a couple of spots that we're going to able to go into the market for. But the bulk of the squad I'm planning on trying to get done."
Central to Soward's plans is Berry, who had a superb 2023 season after making the switch from wing to the no.1 jersey.
The 21-year-old scored 11 tries on her way to winning the club's NRLW Player of the Year and Red V Members Player of the Year honours.
"The scary thing is that she hasn't uncovered how good she is yet," Soward said with a laugh.
"Her work ethic and dedication to her craft has taken a huge leap this year and her next step is building on it. We've all seen what she can do this year - I think she was the most consistent player in the NRLW - so I would love to Teagan be a one-club player forever.
"She's a great person and had a really great season, so I'm glad she's signed with us for (another) two years."
As for his reflections on the Dragons' season, Soward admits that he was left with mixed emotions. St George Illawarra claimed three wins on their way to finishing in seventh spot.
"Missing out on the semi-finals is always considered a disappointment. I felt like we put ourselves in good positions in games and didn't ice a few of those tight ones," he said.
"But if you look at the amount of injuries and the turnover of players that we had, we uncovered a really good group of young females that we want in our program.
"Results wise, we did really well in some games and we learned hard lessons in others. But as a whole, I'm really happy with how the season went and what we've got going forward."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
