By MARK CASHMAN

The Western Sydney Two Blues 2021 season was far from uplifting and that was even before the pandemic and the season being called off early was factored in.

The Two Blues played nine games and did not record a victory, falling to fellow Shute Shield straggler Penrith 11-7 in April.

Their numbers were far from healthy but as they say you have got to hit rock bottom before any serious rebuild can begin.

That’s well underway now with the appointment of a new first grade coach in Sailosi Tagicakibau and a new general manger in Christian Burden.

They are working hard, along with a restructured board, to put the club back on the road to some sort of success

Rugby News spoke to club president and long time board member Scott Rogan about went down in 2021.

All the numbers

Played: Nine

Won: None

Lost: Nine

Points for: 111

Points Against: 397

Differential: -286

Bonus Points: Two

Competition Points: Two

Position: 13th

What was the best part of the 2021 journey? 

We finish 2021 stronger than we began it, and in a much stronger position than we have been in for many years. The Eric Tweedale Stadium is ready, and we have a home again.  That along with some amazing help from NSW Rugby, the Sydney Rugby Union and a group of business people and rugby supporters, we have begun a re-build.

What was the worst part? 

We had three very hard years without a home ground and facility to base ourselves around. It was difficult to offer players much of a vision for their future. What limited resources we had we threw at 2021 and it came up short.  Coaches, players, volunteers and board all did what we could, but it wasn’t enough. We faced the very real possibility of not being in the competition in 2022.  That had an enormous effect on the club and individuals within the club.

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

No one player in particular.  Retention of players has been a problem for many years – as has the amount of our juniors not being attracted to playing grade with the club. Our ‘go to’ player(s) are retaining as many 2021 players as we can for 2022 and bringing home our juniors and those who been playing at other clubs.

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

Sadly we weren’t anywhere near being a contender.

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

One hundred percent. ‘DC’ has been around the Shute Shield for many years and knows the quality of the competition. He has an eye for finding hidden talent and I’m sure there will be opportunities for our Shute Shield players.

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

There are a lot of new faces at the Two Blues in 2022 across the board. Main focus is to connect the entire club and build a unique culture where we can enjoy rugby in Western Sydney. Still a lot of work to be done but we are going in the right direction I believe.

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

Aleks Dabek – Alek is a flanker and proven leader having captained Ponsonby to win the Gallaher Shield in 2019 (Auckland’s premier club division). He has a massive engine and will be one to watch in 2022.

Faiva Faiva – Faiva is an outside back and will be going into his second year in the Shute shield after a good year with West Harbour. He’s come back home and is in decent shape and we’re expecting big things from this young man.

Bold prediction for 2022: 

Two Blues v Wildfires to play a major role in the competition.

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON