Western Sydney were the success story of the 2022 Shute Shield season. While Sailosi Tagicakibau’s side fell just short of a breakthrough finals berth, the Two Blues defeated both grand finalists during the regular season and jumped to 10th spot on the ladder.

The club’s lower grade sides also took massive strides forward with both second and fourth grade playing deep into the finals.

While things have turned around at Merrylands, Tagicakibau has told his players that last year will mean little if they can’t take further steps forward in 2023.

Overview with Sailosi Tagicakibau:

“Everything has gone really well over the summer and we’re really looking forward to getting back into the season. It’s a very long preseason and I think all the clubs are probably feeling that at the moment,” Tagicakibau said. 

“We’ve been working hard on the field and in the gym and have had a big focus on our physical conditioning which will hopefully help us in what we think is going to be another really tight and tough season. 

“Last year, I guess it came down to trusting my personal process as a coach and surrounding myself with likeminded coaches. 

“We all knew we wanted to be a part of something special in Western Sydney and we all believed in what we were doing, so that helped us attract old players back to the club and new players to the Two Blues. 

“Western Sydney is such a huge area and it’s so important not just for the Shute Shield or for NSW Rugby, but for Australian Rugby and everyone here wants to be a part of something positive. 

“We took a big step forward last year but we need to take another step forward again this year and we certainly don’t want to be moving backwards. 

“From a rugby perspective, I think we fell a bit short of where we wanted to be. But it was such a tight competition. No one would have predicted how close things were and how a few results would end up being the difference between the top four and missing the playoffs. 

“We learnt a lot from last year and we’ve got the core of that playing group back and everyone is really excited to embrace the challenge and make more noise again this season.” 

2022: 10th

Ins: Wiseguy Faiane (Auckland), Otumaka Mausia (Perth), Jay Fonokalafi (Auckland), Nemani Nadolo (Leicester), Tolu Latu (Stade Francais), Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco (Waratahs) Sam Babb (Gordon)

Outs: Tom Curtin (Sale), Ethan Caine (Sale), James Harper (Sale), Alex Groves (Sale), Alex Dabek (Randwick).

What style of rugby will we see from Western Sydney this year? 

“We’ve gone out and recruited two quality playmakers in Wiseguy Faiane and Otumaka Mausia to add a little bit more direction to the muscle and the power that the Two Blues traditionally play with. 

“We want out playmakers to put us in the right parts of the field and help us play more efficient rugby.

“We had an early trial match against the Waratahs and did well in that match and we haven’t taken a backwards step with training since then. 

“Besides that game, we’ll only play two trials and we’ve done that intentionally to avoid having a week off. 

“We’ll play two trials then go straight into round one against West Harbour and we’re hoping we can take some good momentum into that match.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“Reece Suesue only played a handful of games for us last year because of injuries. He took over from Tom Curtis when he left and did a great job at flyhalf when fit. 

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do after a big offseason. He played a few Sevens tournaments as well and looks fit and healthy. 

“Kaynan Siteine-Tua was a bit of a surprise packet for us last year. He goes about his business pretty quietly and doesn’t say much but he ended up getting our player of the year and playing in every match.

“I think we only took him off once all season.

“If he has another season like he did last year, I think he’ll be knocking on the door of earning a professional contract pretty soon.” 

Which two teams will play in this year’s grand final and why?

“I think Randwick have recruited really well. Hoilsey is back there, then there is the Eddie Jones factor. There is a real buzz around Coogee at the moment and I think they’ll go deep into the playoffs. 

“I also think Norths will have a big year. They’ve recruited well again and they’ve been pretty consistent over the past few seasons. They know their brand of rugby and they are really well coached by Zak (Beer). 

“He’s also surrounded himself with other really good young coaches like Nick Kellaway and Sam Needs. They’re specialists in their crafts and will add a lot to the playing group. 

“For us, once we get that belief, we’re pretty hard to stop. We’ve got a bit of belief and momentum from last season and the core of the group from last year have all worked really hard over summer and they’re all in really good shape. 

“Consistency will be the key for us. First up we play West Harbour. They’re our rivals and our closest neighbour and we really want to perform well against them. 

“We need to treat every game as a final because we know from last season how much bonus points and tight losses can hurt you at the backend of the season.”