Despite finishing the season on a four-game winning streak, Russ Aitken’s Steelers fell agonisingly short of a postseason berth with just one competition point separating them from the sixth-place Roosters – a side that they drew against in Round 4.
Aitken views the season as a successful one despite not getting the opportunity to test themselves in the finals.
“I was satisfied with our season and, at the same time, really disappointed that the boys didn't get a crack at finals footy,” he said.
“I think we were one of the in-form teams across the final rounds of the season proper… Junior reps is for learning. It took us a while to get into the season, to find our rhythm. We matured as a group and really started to compete on every play.”
Aitken points to the side’s Round 8 win over the previously undefeated Raiders as a key moment of the season as well as a tight Round 1 defeat at the hands of Penrith.
“Canberra hadn’t lost and we just performed at a good standard,” he said.
“Penrith as well… We were up 14-4 with about six to go and lost but that was a great game, really high quality. It was one of the best games of the year that we played in.”
Aitken echoes Willie Talau’s sentiments on the advantages of the pathways system and its role in developing the young players coming through the grades.
“As a club, we already feel the benefits of the pathways system and, obviously, having full-time coaches go back and coach our boys in the junior reps and have an impact on their learning down there,” he said.
“We’re really excited, as a club, to see that and see the hard work that we’re putting in start to pay off. It’s a long game, obviously, in development but we’re really excited.”
Savelio Tamale and Dylan Egan both spent the preseason training with the NRL squad and impressed Aitken upon their return to the under-19s side.
“They were great. I was really happy with their attitudes. Obviously, both boys benefitted from doing a preseason [with the NRL squad],” he said.
“[Egan] was our captain. He always led by example… You know, they’re obviously young fellas so they’re still learning their craft but I was really happy with their consistency and effort.”
Fullback Wes Pring – who finished atop the side’s try-scoring leaderboard with seven four-pointers from his nine appearances – was another who earnt Aitken’s praise.
“Wes had a great year. I couldn’t fault his attitude. He was one of the fittest in the team and, when we started to click from an attacking point of view, Wes was a big part and a big reason of that but his defensive efforts probably impressed me just as much as his attacking,” he said.
“He was bossing our defensive line around and directing traffic there and making sure we were getting our numbers right… I can picture about three or four try-savers across the season from Wes alone and I’m sure there were probably more.”
Aitken is excited for what the future holds for the players that made up his squad this season with a majority set to remain a part of the club’s pathways system moving forward.
“All the boys were great and a lot of the boys are still in our system. The boys that have gone up to Jersey Flegg, obviously, they’re next in line but we’ve also got four of five boys still in our academy system,” he said.
“There might be 15 or so that are still in our pathways system, whether it be Flegg or our academy and they’re there for a reason so I’m really pleased to see that many boys have been able to stay in the system and we’ll see what they come up with next year.”
