By MARK CASHMAN

Many good Shute Shield judges reckon that the Hunter Wildfires were set to rattle home at the back end of the season and may be even grab a spot in an expanded finals series.

The Wildfires played five of the top six teams in the competition in the first couple of months and looked to be coming to terms with the physicality and pace of “footy life in the big smoke”.

In the end they finished ninth on 18 points and have set up a solid base to work off for the 2022 season. 

All the numbers

Played: 10

Won: Three

Lost: Seven

Points for: 273

Points Against: 313

Differential: -40

Bonus Points: Six

Competition Points: 18

Position: Ninth

What was the best part of the 2021 journey

It would have to be getting a full taste of the Shute Shield and all the things that came with that. Our involvement in 2020 wasn’t quite the full experience but the season just past allowed us to really sink our teeth into getting up to speed and getting ourselves into a position where we could compete from week to week.

What was the worst part?

The pandemic obviously and having to call the competition off after 10 rounds was obviously right up there with things that weren’t great on a footy front. Being a new franchise meant that we battled with cohesion at different stages of the competition but by the time everything was called off I felt that we were close to going on a bit of a run.

Who was your “go to” player in the Shute Shield squad?

Nathan De Thierry led the way for us on and off the field. He played the first three rounds at outside centre, moved to fullback at one stage and then finished the year in the No.10 jersey and did a pretty handy job. ‘Nate’ was great in and around the group and was a real contributor not only on a game day but also during the week – great attention to the detail. Kirk Tufuga was another who was there each week and brought an edge to our forward pack each week.

If the season played out who would have played in the grand final?

I’d like to think that we would have got on a bit of a roll after the competition resumed and then played Eastern Suburbs in the big one!

Is the appointment of Darren Coleman at the Waratahs good for the Shute Shield?

Obviously time will tell but his appointment has shown to all the coaches out there working away in the Australian system that there is actually a pathway – not just a Kiwi or an retreaded Aussie who has come back from time overseas. I know I’m biased because he’s my brother but Darren’s knowledge of the local scene is unsurpassed.

What needs to happen between now and round one next year? 

A lot of sweat and time together working on getting our cohesion up to where it needs to be. We kick off our pre-season on November 1 which is something that we haven’t been able to do over the past couple of season

Which player(s) do you expect to go on to bigger and better things next year? 

There’s a fair few in our group who I reckon are on the verge of big things but William Feeney who is a utility back and only 22 is the first one that comes to mind. Mike Saili, a winger with a rugby league background is another along with Luke Nadurutalo, who played at Penrith in 2020. Connor Winchester, who we picked up from Norths and Ngaruhe Jones and Phil Bradford are other who I’m hoping will stand out.

Bold prediction for 2022:

The Wildfires and the Two Blues to be the big improvers in 2022 and the bottom half of the competition of recent times dragging themselves into a position where each game will be extremely competitive and you will see a lot of upsets.

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON