Long-serving coach and Harden Rugby League Club president Jason Pollard will again lead the Hawkettes in 2024, but it will be his final season in charge of the high-flying outfit.
Pollard has led the side to five premierships since 2016, including back-to-back Grand Finals wins in 2022 and 2023.
Pollard had considered hanging up the clipboard during the off-season, but he found the motivation required to give his all for one more season.
“I did consider not coaching because if you want to do it, you’ve got to put in 100%,” Pollard said.
“I probably only made the decision a couple of weeks ago, and I had a chat with a few of the girls, and they were all keen to go around again, so I’m committed for this season.
“I still enjoy doing it; they’re a great bunch of girls, and I’ve had most of them since I started coaching there.
“It will be my last season; hopefully, I can transition a couple of the girls into coaching for the season after.”
Pollard is looking at his current group with one eye on the future.
“The good thing about this squad is that they all started so young, and they are still really young,” Pollard said.
“We’ll have a good team, but it should be an interesting year, and we’ll need to find a couple of juniors.
“Like every club, we’ll lose a few players over the off-season, but I’ll speak to the junior league registrar and see what kids are floating around that played last year and try and get them involved in our side.”
When asked about the Hawkettes’ success and what makes them a good side, Pollard said it came down to a tight-knit group that loved winning.
“I think the main thing is they all enjoy it,” Pollard said.
“They love playing together, and the core group of girls have been there for a long time.
“The best thing that could have happened to them last year was losing that game to Coota and seeing how they took it and responded to it.
“Hopefully, a lot of those other sides are a lot more competitive next year because we want those close games, and our girls thrive on harder games and good contests each week.”
In terms of preseason and what that will look like, Pollard isn’t in a rush for his girls to get back on the paddock.
“We probably won’t kick off until next year,” Pollard said.
“I think it is a long enough season, and we don’t want to be turning up with five or six players, so we’ll probably get together at the end of January/
“It really depends on if we go to Batemans Bay for the knockout; if they want to go, we’ll try and train and be ready for it, but whether we take part in that, I’m not quite sure.”
With Pollard locked in as the Hawkettes coach and Nick Hall back on deck with the Hawks, the only remaining position Harden Rugby League Club needs to fill is the WorHawks job.
While nothing is official, Pollard hopes to be able to make a big announcement in the coming week.
