Western Sydney Two Blues club captain Reece Suesue is confident his side will play finals footy in 2024, if they can avoid a third straight slow start to the Shute Shield season.

The Two Blues won just two of their first eight matches last year and fell just short of a breakthrough finals appearance, despite losing just three of their final 10 games. 

“I honestly thought we could have gone all the way last year, particularly when you consider some of the rugby we played towards the end of the season,” Suesue told Rugby News. 

“It was pretty frustrating to have to watch and rely on other results in those last rounds because of the poor start we had.

“We had the most bonus points in the competition last year, which shows we let a lot of games slip that we should have won. 

“We continued to build again, on the back of 2022, but I’m still gutted that we got so close to finals and still fell just short.”

Suesue isn’t wrong about the Two Blues in tight games. 

Of the nine matches Western Sydney lost last year, the Two Blues lost eight of them by a margin of eight points or less. In four games, they lost by less than three points. 

But while those narrow defeats cost the Two Blues last year, Suesue is hopeful his side can turn that around in 2024. 

“It just comes down to icing those little moments. We’ve got to have better composure late in the game, when things get tense. 

“I can think of so many little moments from last year when we made mistakes instead of holding on to the ball. 

“I missed a couple conversions that could have secured us wins as well. 

“We’ve just got to win those little moments consistently and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that last year.”

While the Two Blues didn’t play finals footy in 2023, a number of players earned professional contracts around the world on the back of their Shute Shield form. 

Irie Papuni and Otu Mausia were both signed to play Super Rugby with Moana Pasifika. 

Captain Jaycob Matui signed in Japan, Johnny Kawau picked up a gig in Italy and Tolu Latu and Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco both returned to professional clubs after stints at Granville.

Despite that, Suesue said he was confident the club had the talent to push deeper into the Shute Shield this season. 

“We’ve recruited really well again and added a lot of experience. There’s a few guys that have played in Japan and one that has come back from France. 

“Plus the depth across the grades looks really good. We’ve split teams up a few times for opposed sessions over the last few weeks and that’s been really competitive, which is a great sign for the year ahead.”

Suesue joined the Two Blues in 2022 after following brother Rilloy to the club after finishing an accountancy degree in Auckland. 

After being restricted to only six games in 2022 due to injury, Reece took on the role of the Two Blues’ chief “cheerleader” leading the club’s iconic singing and chanting in the grandstand.

But the flyhalf is hoping he’ll need to pass on those responsibilities this season. 

“I’ve actually had to try and recruit a few of the other boys to help me with that. I’m hoping I can stay injury free and on the field and if that’s the case, someone else is going to have to lead it. 

“It really just comes down to winning though. If we play good rugby and get some good results, particularly early in the year, then the crowds will come and the atmosphere will grow because people will want to be a part of it.”

The Two Blues are hoping for a big crowd in round one, when they face Gordon and pay tribute to the life of club great and former Wallaby Eric Tweedale, who passed away aged 102 in October last year. 

Tweedale’s family will be at the field, named after the Wallaby, and a short memorial will be before kick off.

“It’s going to be a big day on and off the field with Eric’s family joining us,” Suesue said. 

“There are also quite a few former Two Blues playing and coaching at Gordon so we want to get one up over them early in the year. 

“We’ve started the year poorly in 2022 and in 2023 and it has come back to cost us. We’ve got to hit the ground running and set ourselves up for the rest of the year. 

“Even though everyone says what a long season it is, it’s hard to chase teams down in a competition as good as this so we want to start this year with a bang.”