Hutchison and Kennedy give Albion Park reason to dream of drought-breaking title in 2026

With new recruits Drew Hutchison and Rhys Kennedy on the training paddock, the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles are dreaming big heading into the 2026 season.

The two South Coast NRL exports join the Eagles following a promising past two seasons in which the club returned to finals football after a decade-long absence with consecutive preliminary final appearances.

Eagles first grade coach Josh White said that the pair have already had a profound positive impact on the club, with players eager to learn what they can from them about NRL systems and structures.

“They’ve set the platform, they come back with a lot of experience and they talk about the standards we’ve got to meet,” he said.

“It takes a bit of pressure off of me because they’ve come back out of that system and they’re leading from the front which is good for me and good for the club.

“The boys are loving it, they’re bouncing and you can see after training, they’re still here, everyone’s goal kicking, having a beer and they’re enjoying each other’s company which is the main thing.”

While the Eagles have lost Kane Ball and Toataua Porima to Group 9’s Young Cherrypickers over the off-season, the club has retained the majority of its key first grade talent for the upcoming campaign.

With the foundation built over the past two campaigns and the addition of Hutchison and Kennedy, White said the team has already set the goal of getting to finals, and is hoping for a little luck with injury when they get there this time after a few setbacks in previous years.

“We’ve already spoken about it, every year you aim to get to the finals and when you get there it’s a different comp,” he said.

“We’ve just got to get to the finals this year hopefully injury free like we’ve struggled [to] the last couple of years, and I think if we get there injury free and we’re on song, we’re a big chance of winning it.”

After an 88-game NRL career across stints at the Dragons, Roosters and Bulldogs, Hutchison was released by Canterbury at the end of last season, after which he wasted no time in signing to return to his junior club in the Eagles.

Now, with his professional days behind him, the 30-year-old said he is enjoying being back around Albion Park and preparing for a return to the local fields of Group 7 in 2026.

“It’s been really good actually, I come to training and can’t wait to get out of the car and get down here,” he said.

“I’ve got my best mates and my brother playing as well, so it’s really good.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good environment down here at the moment, blokes enjoy being here and I think it makes it really easy to come to training when it’s like that.

“Last year just coming down to watch and seeing the boys [and] how much they do enjoy a win when they work hard for it and get a good win, [that’s] really something I’m looking forward to.” 

Over the past two years, the Eagles have shaped as title contenders under White’s coaching, only to fall agonisingly short of a grand final appearance due to consecutive preliminary final losses to the Shellharbour Sharks.

Now, with the majority of the side sticking around in 2026, and the addition of himself and Kennedy, Hutchison said the side’s focus is on putting themselves in the frame once again to end the club’s 14-year first grade premiership drought.

“I think there’s no doubt, we’ve got a good squad here that we can contend for the title,” he said.

“We haven’t spoken about it a great deal but I think if that’s not your goal every time you put on your footy boots, then I don’t know what is.”

As for what he can add to the team and his goals for the season, Hutchison said that he is focused on just being himself and adding what he can to an already strong line-up.

“I suppose it’s just little things I guess, I don’t want to try and be anyone that I’m not, and certainly not coming back saying ‘this is what we did here, this is what we did there’, it’s more so just about coming back here, being myself and just being the bloke that [people] remember playing here years ago,” he said.

“Personally [my goal is] just getting back here and enjoying it and adding what I can to the team I suppose, that’s always something you do when you play footy and it’s something that I continue doing.”

Albion Park-Oak Flats will open its season with a clash against Nowra-Bomaderry at Kiama Showground as part of the Group 7 Magic Round on Saturday April 11.

Tallon Smith is a writer for Battlers for Bush Footy.