Alex Hodgman [Blues]

The former Mount Albert Grammar School pupil has taken his time to fulfil his obvious potential. He shifted South after he left school representing Fiji at the Junior World Championship in 2012 and then New Zealand in 2013.

He was on the fringes of the Crusaders team for four years without ever quite breaking into a regular start. It was a shift back to the Blues in 2017 and a prolonged injury-free run that saw him deliver the all action rugby he was renowned for as a junior.

Has been rock solid at set-piece this year and a good contributor around the field.