Western Sydney took another massive step forward in 2023 but ultimately fell one win short of a breakthrough Shute Shield finals appearance.  

The Two Blues finished seventh, two competition points behind Hunter who claimed the sixth finals spot, but Western Sydney lost eight matches by eight points or less last season. 

Despite that, the Two Blues still had plenty of celebrate at the end of 2023, with some of their best talent picking up professional contracts around the world. 

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.  

“It’s massive for the club,” Two Blues coach and former professional player Sailosi Tagicakibau told Rugby News. 

“We’ve got a massive responsibility to keep the game alive in western Sydney and we need to provide an environment where players can play in a competitive side but also where they improve with the aim of moving on to play professionally. 

“We’ve started to show that if you put in the hard work at Two Blues, people will notice you and you don’t have to leave western Sydney to do that. 

Tagicakibau said while his side has taken big steps forward over the past two seasons, they needed to take an even bigger step in 2024 and not just qualify for the Shute Shield finals, but challenge for the premiership.  

“We’ve had to be really particular in who we added to the squad. We were there or thereabouts last year with the squad we had so we’ve tried to bring in players of a similar quality to the guys that have moved on to play professionally. 

“We’ve also got a few exciting players pushing into grade from colts and I’m excited to see what a few of those boys can do.  

“We just need to get everyone on the same page as early as possible so that we can play with the sort of continuity that we played with towards the end of last season.”

Numbers alone suggest Western Sydney should have finished higher up the ladder than they did last year, which gives Tagicakibau plenty to work with heading into 2024. 

“If you look at the numbers from last season, we ranked fourth for points scored and conceded the fourth least amount of points. Randwick had the best defence in the competition by quite some way, but as a whole, we weren’t far off on both sides of the ball. 

“The rule changes around tackle height present a new challenge for all the clubs but it also presents a new opportunity, particularly for a side like ours that has a strong offloading game.  

“In attack, it could be a real positive for us, but that will be wasted if we don’t adjust our technique in defence and play with good discipline.”

The Two Blues will split their time throughout the first few months of 2024 across XVs and Sevens but Tagicakibau said it was important the club focussed on both formats of the game. 

“It’s a great tool for fitness leading in to the Shute Shield season but we also want to give our players an opportunity to show their sevens skills and push for higher honours. 

“We also want to keep developing a winning culture. Our sevens program won six tournaments from six, or something like that last year and we’re hoping we can use that as a springboard in to the 2024 Shute Shield season.”