With the NRLW season simply days away from kicking off, Jamie Soward has opened up on how a lot he has developed because the coach of the Dragons — and why his halves pairing have the potential to be the “best ever.”
Soward remains to be comparatively recent in his teaching journey — this will probably be his third season within the position — however he’s already skilled so many highs and lows.
He guided the Dragons to a grand ultimate in his rookie season however the membership fell somewhat wanting expectations the subsequent. He suspects that may have one thing to do with assuming issues have been simply going to occur.
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FOX LEAGUE PODCAST – JAMIE SOWARD
NRLW Dragons coach Jamie Soward opens up on how a lot he has learnt and altered forward of his third season on the helm. He additionally lifts the lid on how the membership pulled off two main signings and why they’ve the potential to be the “best ever” halves pairing within the ladies’s recreation.LISTEN NOW >>
“I learnt some valuable lessons in the first two seasons,” Soward advised the Fox League Podcast.
“There was building a roster but also still educating the basic fundamentals to the squad throughout the year.
“I think last year I probably assumed a little bit — especially after we got so close in season one. I assumed the learning was the same when it probably wasn’t.
“I’ve learnt to put the foot down too in terms of my mannerisms, my intensity and emotions at training and then when to back it off a bit.”
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Soward has most lately overcome the hurdle of rebuilding a roster after dropping 17 gamers — essentially the most of any membership.
Among these are Emma Tonegato, Shaylee Bent, Holli Wheeler, Elsie Albert, Keely Davis and Kezie Apps. The latter two had performed each season with the Dragons for the reason that NRLW’s inception in 2018.
Soward isn’t too frightened although. In reality he believes in some positions the Dragons have introduced in “upgrades”. Instead of dwelling over the expertise misplaced, he’s excited for the recent batch of gamers getting a possibility at his membership.
“Rather than focusing on the amount of changes, which was always going to happen, we decided we were going to focus on the girls that want to be here,” he stated.
“I’m very comfortable that we’ve got a really competitive squad.
“I’ve been open in saying some girls made their own decision to leave whether it be to play the position they want to play in, they’ve got more money, to get a new experience or play with their friends.
“I’m not naive to think some didn’t like my coaching style or didn’t agree with some of my methods — which is fine, that’s going to happen.
“What people don’t understand is for the first time ever there was 400 girls trying to get into 240 positions, who were free agents.
“We were scrambling around trying to do hypothetical deals, talk to players and look at what the squads looked like. At the end of the day we made a decision at the Dragons to get 24 girls that want to be here.”
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One of the 24 gamers that desires to be within the Red V is the reigning Dally M medallist, Raecene McGregor.
The 25-year-old halfback steered the Roosters to a premiership within the rescheduled 2021 season after which backed it up with the Dally M the next season in addition to claiming 2022 Golden Boot honours.
McGregor’s youthful sister, Page, has been a revelation within the centres for the Dragons during the last couple of seasons however received’t play in 2023 resulting from private causes.
It’d be simple to imagine Page sealed the take care of Raecene — however that’s not the case.
“To be honest, I left Page out of it,” Soward stated.
“I thought it was best to treat Rae with the respect that she deserves.
“I approached her just as a player by herself. The first time we met for coffee it was a pinch of ‘come and help us win a premiership but also bring the professionalism you have and teach some of our younger girls.’
“We need Raecene’s experience to help us educate those (younger) girls but also help us win now.”
McGregor has been appointed captain this season, however there’s a lot greater than her expertise and management that has impressed Soward.
“I love the fact that she’s a competitor. She’s always wanting the ball and always wanting to pull the trigger on a play, which is probably something I got wrong in my coaching last year. I might have coached it a little bit out of them at times,” he stated.
“Rae is so well-organised around what she wants to do I don’t have to over-coach her too much in terms of what she needs to do, it’s more getting the people around her ready.
“That’s why I made her captain. She holds such a big seat in the game, she’s so well-liked universally that it was up to me to organise people around her to do their job.
“The girls are teasing her that we’re a bit the same, she’s the female version of me they reckon.
“She tears into people and doesn’t mind telling you how it is. I’ve enjoyed that relationship, I’ve become really close with her, I feel like everything we promised each other in those talks we’ve been able to deliver so far in the pre-season.”
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Another main coup for the Dragons is the signing of New Zealand Rugby Sevens star Tyla Nathan-Wong, who is about to companion McGregor within the halves.
It’s that mixture that Soward believes “has the potential to be the best ever.”
Nathan-Wong wasn’t on the Dragons’ radar till her supervisor reached out to the membership.
The 29-year-old is a two-time winner of the New Zealand Sevens Player of the Year and has represented her nation on the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Sevens Rugby World Cups.
She performed an enormous half within the Black Ferns claiming gold on the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
As Soward put it, she’s “arguably in the two or three greatest players in sevens history.”
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Besides her apparent talent, it was vital that Nathan-Wong might slot in with the Dragons “ and Soward’s — culture.
“Players were getting shopped around and we interviewed players on whether we felt like it was going to be a fit or not because I am a bit of a weirdo, I’m an acquired taste as people will tell you but I wanted to get a feel for what the girls wanted to get out of their career,” he stated.
“It’s not just about coming across to get a pay cheque — she probably could’ve gotten paid more back in the Sevens system. She wanted to test herself on the biggest stage.”
Soward stated Nathan-Wong, who will probably be vice-captain this season, “has been a fantastic addition” and he or she “commands so much respect.”
“Her game awareness, being able to execute a skill at high speed I think is something I was surprised with how quickly she picked it up,” he added.
“I feel like that halves pairing in Rae and Tyla has the potential to be the best ever.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
