By MARK CASHMAN

West Harbour ended their season in 10th spot and a few wins wins out of the top six but the yard yards done by departing coach Mark Gudmunson undoubtedly set the the foundations for success in 2022.

Gudmunson believes that the Pirates were poised to play some sort of role in the composition of the Shute Shield playoffs – that wasn’t to be and the baton has been handed over to new boss Joe Barakat.

Work commitments have meant that ‘Guddo’ will work under Barakat with the Shute Shield squad in 2022 and he firmly believes that several of their stars should get a chance at Super Rugby sooner rather than later

All the numbers

Played: Nine

Won: Three

Lost: Six

Points for: 200

Points Against: 300

Differential: -100

Bonus Points: Four

Competition Points: 16

Position: 10th

What was the best part of the 2021 journey?

“Getting back on to the training paddock to be honest after what was a disrupted 2020. 

What was the worst part?

“It would have to be when the season was called off. We knew it was not a great outlook and to be honest, we were looking forward to continuing our improvement towards finals.” 

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

“That is a real tough one, we had a really good group that all had input into the squad in different ways, but my captain, Sonny Satuala, always led from the front.” 

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

“I truly believed that this group would have made finals, we did not fear any team that we had at the back end of the season. Some may disagree but I would have loved to right an indifferent performance against Sydney Uni earlier in the year in the GF.”

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

“‘DC’ is a winner, he will put the right people around him and gain some results in 2022 and the really launch on to 2023. He is a great appointment for the Tahs and I look forward to seeing him have a chat to a few West Harbour Pirates in the off season for an opportunity to show him what they have. I am sure Joe Barakat and ‘DC’ have already had chats about just that.”

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

“Continual hard work and fort many at the club at the moment this is unknown ground. Nobody has had an off seasonof this length. Clint Hill needs to keep doing the great work he has been doing and then we all know that Joe Barakat is a huge signing for the club and he is super keen to just get going when his tenure starts. This group needs to stick together, I know players will be getting approached by other clubs, that’s what happens when you’re playing really good rugby, but they need to realise that with Joe coming in, a new level is going to be added. So simply taking what Joe and Clint set with both hands and doing it as a group will be a massive continuation in the right direction.”

Which players do you expect to go on to bigger and better things next year? 

“Another tough question as I could name about eight or 10 players I think should be looked at. Cam Betham should get an opportunity at a Super Rugby club, Kaliova Nacina should be looked at for the Super Rugby Drua team, Faiva Faiva is an outstanding young centre that should be in the Tahs squad before another Super Rugby team picks him up. Alofa Alofa still has a few big years in him at a high level and Justin Marsters should have played Test Rugby for the Cook Islands if Covid did not come again, because he had been playing some really good rugby before that.”

Bold prediction for 2022: 

“If we get a full season in, that would be a good start, and then the Pirates under Joe Barakat play finals, go deep into the finals series and have two or three players in Super Rugby players selected from Shute Shield performances. The first part is probably the  bold part, the rest is the path we are heading down at Concord Oval.” 

IMAGE: JB PHOTOGRAPHY