Rugby league training for the Illawarra & South Coast
From Thirroul to Ulladulla, the Illawarra and South Coast are rugby league towns with two representative programs to aim at — and a long history of producing Steelers and Dragons.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
The Illawarra has two junior pathways: an Illawarra team in the SG Ball Cup (under-19), and Illawarra South Coast in the regional Laurie Daley (under-18) and Andrew Johns (under-16) Cups. Senior football runs through the Illawarra Rugby League — a nursery for the Illawarra Steelers and St George Illawarra — and Group 7, from Warilla south to Ulladulla.
Which club your address belongs to
The Illawarra has two junior representative programs.
- Illawarra (SG Ball Cup)
- One of seventeen SG Ball Cup teams in 2026.
- Illawarra South Coast
- Laurie Daley Cup (under-18) and Andrew Johns Cup (under-16) teams, in the southern pool.
Further south, Group 16 covers the Far South Coast from Batemans Bay to Eden and inland to Cooma and Jindabyne.
The competitions
- Illawarra Rugby League
- First grade clubs in 2026: Collegians (Figtree), Corrimal, Dapto, Sutherland-Loftus (new in 2026), Thirroul and Western Suburbs (Figtree). A nursery for the Illawarra Steelers and St George Illawarra.
- Group 7 Rugby League
- The southern Illawarra and South Coast, Warilla to Ulladulla: Albion Park-Oak Flats, Berry-Shoalhaven Heads, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Kiama (2025 premiers), Milton-Ulladulla, Nowra-Bomaderry, Shellharbour, Stingrays of Shellharbour and Warilla-Lake South.
- Group 16 Rugby League
- The Far South Coast and Snowy: Batemans Bay, Bega, Merimbula-Pambula, Moruya, Narooma, Tathra, Bombala, Cooma and Eden.
Set it up for Illawarra & South Coast
Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.
Choose rugby league, then your team nights
Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Illawarra Rugby League or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.
Match the program to your league’s start
The app treats November to February as rugby league pre-season and March to October as the season. A junior rep player whose games start in late January or February can set their phase to in-season early. The phase lives in Program → Your year.
Know your numbers on day one
Your first testing session is ready immediately: Bronco test, Bench press 1RM, Weighted chin-up 3RM, Back squat 1RM, Standing vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.
Put your suburb on the board
In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.
What you start with, by the month you join
Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block.
The rugby league year in Illawarra & South Coast
- November – January
- Pre-season, through summer. Aerobic base, then strength, then repeat-effort work. Test on arrival.
- Late January – March
- Regional junior representative season. The 2026 Laurie Daley and Andrew Johns Cups opened with a Regional Magic Round on 31 January.
- April – September
- Group and club seasons. Volume comes down, weights hold.
- October
- A short break. League gives you almost no off-season.
Humid coast, cold southerlies
The Illawarra’s summer is humid, which makes a pre-season session cost more than the temperature suggests. Winter brings cold southerlies down the coast. Train early through summer, treat humid days as extra load, and make the warm-up count in winter.
Coaching a side in Illawarra & South Coast?
A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.
Rugby league in Illawarra & South Coast: questions
Does the Illawarra have its own SG Ball team?
What rugby league competitions are on the South Coast?
Where these facts come from
Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.
- Illawarra Rugby League
- Group 7 Rugby League
- Group 16 Rugby League
- SG Ball Cup — 2026 teams and age group
- 2026 Laurie Daley Cup — pools and result
Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
Nearby and related
Sydney
Eight regions across ten junior districts, the SG Ball and Harold Matthews Cups, and a western Sydney summer.
OpenNewcastle & the Hunter
The Newcastle Rugby League premiership, the Knights’ SG Ball and Harold Matthews sides, and the NMR Knights.
OpenThe rugby league pathway
From community level to state league and the draft — and what gets tested along the way.
OpenTurn up to round one already fit
Pick rugby league, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.