Lock Ali Williams accepts he could have a battle on his hands to regain his spot in the Blues' Super 14 rugby side after returning from the All Blacks' reconditioning programme.
The Blues, who have a bye this weekend, have become competition leaders over the tournament's first sixrounds, while four of their players were on the programme.
In Williams' absence, inspirational skipper Troy Flavell and 2006 All Black Greg Rawlinson have formed a regular locking partnership.
"The way Troy and Greg are going, I'm going to be hard pressed to get even on the bench," he said.
"We can only do what we can do and leave it to the coaches to put us in or not."
Williams saw his role as fitting into the demands of the Blues' squad.
"They've built such a good thing at the moment and it would be wrong for us if we did not grow it and enhance it," he said.
"That's our main priority -- to better this team whether you're playing or watching or supporting."
Williams expressed no surprise in how well the Blues, who have failed to make the playoffs for the past three years, had started the campaign.
Their five wins and solitary loss put them three points ahead of the second-placed Sharks, who have played one match fewer.
"As a team, we've always had the talent -- it's always been whether we can put it on the field," Williams said.
"The way the boys are off the field probably relates to the way they are playing on the field, along with the way the management and everyone are gelling to fix what happened last year."
He said what was important now was to avoid complacency and to kick on.
Meanwhile, Williams said he felt "energised" after his first match of the year yesterday, when he appeared for the Blues' Development 15 against their counterparts from the Chiefs in Auckland.
He played the second half, scoring a try in a 28-12 win, and he said nothing could replicate a game situation.
"I really enjoyed it," he said.
"Obviously the lungs still need to get used to someone smashing you and running back 50m, but it's like anything, it will come with a few more games."
