After already starting training in November, Lacey’s squad kicked-off their in game preparations with three trial matches – two against St George and one Victoria’s development team, which saw the team been reduced to just 23 players.

This was most recently followed by two more trial matches, at Corrmial’s Ziems Park against the Sharks and Roosters, on Saturday.

“The first couple of trial matches saw us concentrate more on selections but once we got our solid group, we have actually been able start to working on a couple of key aspects, which I thought we did well on Saturday,” coach Lacey said.

“In particular, we have been able to start developing combinations with one another and see what works best for the team.

“We have also been working on what suits the style of play we want to play and how we are going to continue to become better footballers as the season progresses.”

Following Saturday’s matches, Lacey’s team will play one more trial, on Sunday, January 27 at Mollymook’s Bill Andriske Oval against the Canberra Raiders, from 3pm – acting as perfect stepping stone for their season opener against reigning premiers Cronulla-Sutherland at Southern Cross Group Stadium on Saturday, February 9.

“It was great to take a game down to Mollymook last season – an area which is a sensational breeding ground for footballers,” Lacey said.

“It’s a second home to me, as my parents have owned a caravan down there more more than 20 years and I just love going back down to the footy loving town.

“It’s disappointing we couldn’t have another round game there this season but I jumped at the chance to take a trial match down there.”

As Lacey alluded to with the breeding grounds, his squad is dominated by Milton-Ulladulla products, including Taniesha Roberts, Keele Browne, Sophie Morris, Georgie Fitzpatrick, Ella Conlon and Meg Buchanan.

Other Group Seven products in the squad include Stingrays of Shellharbour’s Madi Singleton, Riley Scott, Teagan Berry, Rhiannon Tungai and Alex Wallace.

Rounding out the 23-person squad are Helenburgh’s Michaela Scutts, Shannon Scutts, Emily Andrews and Olivia Vale, Berkeley’s Tiana Graham, Eleni Amone, Ula-Mari Time-Cribb, Viena Tinao, Maddison Weatherall, and Mikayla Kidd and Corrimal’s Chantel Tugaga and Nancy Misa.

And with a number of these girls returning from last year’s semi-final side (where they lost 38-30 to the Dragons), Lacey is confident his squad can finally claim the trophy that has constantly eluded them.

“Our goal is the same as last year – we obviously have high hopes but we are realistic that it will take some time for this group to gel,” he said.

“Obviously we have gone close the past couple of seasons, but that only makes us hungrier to go that one step further.

“All the girls have shown they are willing to improve and understand they are now part of the women’s NRL pathway.

“There’s no doubt there’s a number of future NRL players in this team and I’ve told them that they have all been earmarked for future honours – it’s now up to them to show it on the field.

“Nothing makes you stand out more than winning the Steelers’ first Tarsha Gale Cup.

“And as they are all friends with Keely Davis they’ve seen how quickly success can happen – in the space of 12 months she went from Tarsha Gale, to playing for Corrimal, then NSW Country before signing with the Dragons NRL women’s side, which led to Prime Minister’s XIII selection and ultimately her debut Jillaroos jersey.”

If they are to achieve their goal, Lacey’s side will have to quickly adjust to the new rules implemented for the 2019 season.

“The biggest thing is we’ve moved from nine to 11 players on the field, which gets us closer to a genuine game of rugby league, instead of the end-to-end attacking nines games,” he said.

“Adjustments include; five-person scrums which generally were non-existence, less space to work on the field making it hard to break the line and probably the biggest one is the implementation of only 10 interchange per side per game.

“With more players on the field, obviously there are going to be more hit-ups and less chances to score but on the flip-side, we need to make sure our players are fit and can play for longer periods of time.

“Playing to your capability when you’re fatigued is one of the biggest challenges our girls will face but I’m confident they’ll cope with it.”