KEY POINTS:
Star flanker Daniel Braid remains an unlikely Super 14 starter while a bunch of senior Blues players will miss another chance this week to test their understanding of rugby's experimental laws.
The Blues travel to Brisbane to meet the Reds tomorrow in a trial game but that group will be without captain Troy Flavell, John Afoa, Braid, Nick Williams, Danny Lee and Benson Stanley.
Flavell and Stanley were injured in last week's practice match, Afoa is on paternity leave, Lee and Williams are expected to return for a final trial next week while Braid is recuperating from a shoulder surgery.
Coach David Nucifora said New Zealand's player of the year remained "touch and go" to start the Blues Super 14 campaign against the Chiefs on February 16.
"He is the only one we have any concern about at the moment - that is really the major one," he said.
Lee had recovered from the broken leg he suffered last year and with Williams, who was rehabbing a shoulder, were staying home to prepare for next week's last practice match against the Highlanders.
Everyone who went to Brisbane would be involved against the Reds who have named their eight Wallabies for the match at Ballymore.
Nucifora and the Blues got their first flavour about the new rules when they held a trial match against a group of promising players from within the Blues region.
That experience would help them prepare for their final two trials.
"We didn't know what to expect until you see it happen," Nucifora said.
"Now it gives us a bit more to go on. The big thing at this level of football is to have the awareness of what's going to happen, so you can react and respond, and now they have a bit of a feeling for it."
There was no doubt the rule changes had made the game a great deal faster and teams would now work out how best to use them to their advantage. Australian club sides had eventually worked more structure into their play when they became more accustomed to the experimental laws last season.
Nucifora had studied some of those games on tape and hoped to watch replays on how the other New Zealand sides coped with the new rules in their first trial matches last weekend.
The opening rounds of the Super 14 would be a huge learning curve for the players and referees.
"There will be a real transition phase in how the teams use the laws and adapt to them," he said.
"The first few weeks will be a lot of looking at what everyone else is doing and seeing how they are trying to adapt to things."
Meanwhile, ACT Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher is keeping almost all of his big names out of Friday night's trial match against the Waratahs in Gosford.
Wallabies prop Guy Shepherdson will run out for his first match since the Rugby World Cup alongside a host of youngsters and debutants against a powerful Waratahs contingent.
Fisher yesterday named a 27-man squad for the match including four of the six new recruits plus eight members of the Brumbies' academy.
Blues team to play Queensland
Isa Nacewa, Rudi Wulf, Anthony Tuitavake, Isaia Toeava, Joe Rokocoko, Nick Evans, Taniela Moa, Jerome Kaino, Onosai'I Tololima-Auvab'a, Justin Collins, Anthony Boric, Kurtis Haiu, Bronson Murray, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock.
Reserves - Tom McCartney, Nick White, Chris Heard, Bryn Evans, Chris Smylie, Lachie Munro, Jamie Helleur, George Pisi, Chris Lowrey, Chris Smith, Ben Atiga, Jarek Gobel, David Smith.
