Burke eyes top three finish after stepping up to first grade role with Warner in 2026
Tallon Smith
New Shellharbour Stingrays coach Mathew Burke has set his sights on a top three finish and some better luck injury-wise as he prepares for his first season in charge of the club’s top grade side.
After leading Stingrays to the reserve grade premiership last season, Burke has stepped up to the first grade coaching role alongside returning mentor Tommy Warner, following the departure of Kieran Rankmore over the off-season.
Following their week one elimination at the hands of Gerringong last year, Burke said that securing a double chance and staying healthy is top of the priority list heading into the 2026 campaign.
“[The goal is] definitely top five, we want to get into that top three so you get your second chance and a home final which always helps, so we’ll build off last year,” he said.
“We had a horrible run of injuries last year throughout the club, I think first grade had nearly five or six starters out nearly the whole year, which did affect our reserve grade team a little bit, but we went on to win it.
“Hopefully if we can just all stay fit this year it’ll just be a totally different ball game for us, just keeping players on the paddock.
“We’ve got a couple of key [players] we’ve got to keep fit, Trey Barlow, Tommy Warner, Liam Scott, if they can all stay fit, towards the end of the year we’ll be rolling, and looking for at least a top three finish.”
Burke’s ascension to the top grade role comes after a long association with the club, first as a player and then a coach, guiding the club to its first ever reserve grade title last year.
Now, with his apprenticeship more than served, he said a chat with Warner following Rankmore’s decision to step away sealed the deal of a promotion to first grade co-coach.
“I won the reserve grade comp last year and with Kieran stepping down, Tommy wanted me to give him a hand so he gave me a ring and we talked through a few things and we decided just to tackle it together and see how we go,” he said.
“Tommy’s already been there last year and the year before, Tommy’s done a great job, he’s a great leader on and off the field.”
On the recruitment front, the club has been one of the more active sides in the player market over the off-season, with Teumuariki Tukere, Dom Stephens, Tuma Te Koi, Jake Stig and Isaac Morris all joining the Stingrays for the upcoming season.
However, by far the biggest recruitment coup for the club over the summer was the addition of a forward who will bring World Cup experience to Flinders Field.
“We’ve got a Lebanese international Jalal Bazzaz, he’s come over from Wests, hasn’t played for [a while] but he’s jumped on board,” he said.
“[He’s a ] big front rower, lock forward, [and has] a lot of experience so he’s been really good with the boys at training.
“We also signed a winger/centre from Wests, Teumuariki, he’s only a young boy, but [in] saying [that] he’s got a lot of experience, so he’s been a good signing for us as well.
“Plus, we re-signed everyone from last year, so we’re looking pretty strong at the moment.”
Looking ahead to the competition’s season-opening Magic Round at Kiama Showground on April 11, Stingrays have drawn the hosts and defending premier Knights to begin their campaign.
Burke said that while it will be a tough task first up, he believes his team will be more than ready to go when game time rolls around.
“Kiama’s always a tough nut to crack, especially at home coming off their grand final win they’ll be firing, so our boys have got to be ready.
“We’ve had a good preseason, we’ll give it a red hot crack come Magic Round.”