REWIND 18 months and the Jamberoo Superoos were celebrating their first Group Seven premiership in 43 years, after defeating Kiama in the decider.
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And although they left everything out on the park in 2018, the Roos fell one game short of the grand final - losing the preliminary final to the Knights.
"Obviously you rate your season on how you finish it, so I guess the season wasn't as good as we had hoped," Jamberoo captain/coach Jono Dallas said.
"I think we got jumped a little last year and underestimated how hard each team was going to come at us, being the reigning premiers - we learnt the hard way you need to be up for every single game.
"To win a competition, you need some luck and we didn't have that fortune last year, compared to the year we won it."
In attempt to return to the Group Seven summit in 2019, Dallas as brought in a number of players to the squad, including Mark Asquith (overseas), Dillon Capaan (Dapto), Brock Skelly (Wests) and Kyle Stone (Warilla-Lake South) - while only losing Jayde Tooth (Milton-Ulladulla) and Joe Rokoqo.
"With [Jayde] Toothy going back to Milton-Ulladulla, I knew we needed another versatile hooker in the squad - so when I saw that Brock Skelly wasn't playing anywhere, I jumped at the chance to get him to Kevin Walsh Oval," Dallas said.
"Brock and Jimmy Asquith's combination out of the hooker role this year will be huge for us, as I think it's one of the most important roles, with interchange being reduced to just eight this season."
On top of his hookers, Dallas believes his side has two other main strengths; the ability to score points on the edges and his middles, including the likes of Luke Asquith, Keiran Pearce, Matt Webster and Brendan Smith.
With all this being said, Dallas said there's no reason why his team can't repeat the 2017 premiership.
"If things go our way, I know we are capable of matching it with any other team in the league," he said.
"We've been in that top five for the past couple of seasons, thanks largely to the majority of our group staying the same.
"So with our continuity and attitude towards turning up for one another, we all know what it takes to go all the way."
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