The Force's finals hopes took a fell blow at Eden Park as the Blues emerged 40-19 victors from Friday's Super Rugby Pacific clash.
After trailing by just five points at half time, the Force couldn't contain the reigning champions with Beauden Barrett pulling strings in a masterful flyhalf display.
Catch every Super Rugby Pacific game live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Here's what we learned:
Don't let the score line fool you - this contest was far closer than 40-19 suggests - but there's no denying the Blues' title defence just yet.
Beauden Barrett was at his brilliant best against the Force, particularly during a second half surge that saw him lay on two try assists and a line break assist.
Barrett's vision was on full display with the All Blacks centurion cross-kicking and ripping cut passes for fun to go with over 500 metres from the boot in general play and five conversions.
The Blues are just built different with Barrett running the cutter and while their top-six status might not last the weekend, you can bet they'll cast a long shadow over the final month of regular season action.
Rule a miracle Wallabies comeback out at your own peril - Kurtley Beale hadn't played for over 10 months but looked like he'd barely missed a beat across 72 minutes in the fullback jersey.
While his try will jag a few reels and clicks, it's his composure and ability to find space from kick return that should really get tongues wagging.
Beale carried 15 times for over 121 metres and linked sublimely with winger Mac Grealy and Harry Potter - the latter of whom was again superb in a losing side.
Potter's the pick of Perth's back-three bunch but Beale could play himself into Test contention with a strong finish to Super Rugby Pacific and - if selected - strong performances against the Lions for the Force and First Nations/Pasifika XV.
Carlo Tizzano literally cannot stop scoring tries in 2025.
The Force and Wallabies flanker has been in remarkable touch and found the chalk yet again to equal the existing competition record for tries scored by a forward in a single Super Rugby season (12)
Tizzano's 37th minute touchdown sees him join Hoskins Sotutu, Codie Taylor, Folau Fainga'a and Malcom Marx - and he's got three more games to set the outright record.
Records aside, Tizzano's numbers continue to impress - he led the Force for carries (16) and tackles (13) to go with 51 post-contact metres, three tackle busts and a turnover.
The Blues' victory may have been orchestrated by Beauden Barrett but those Aucklanders wouldn't be permitted clean ball without the good work of their forwards at scrum time
Simon Cron's side struggled to contain the Blues' pack up front, conceding two scrum penalties in each half that helped march the defending champions up field.
Loosehead Ryan Coxon was badly exposed and conceded three penalties during his 53rd minute stint.
It's an area the Force need to quickly address before next week's clash with the Brumbies and highlights the value of young gun Marley Pearce, who has been sorely missed since suffering a shoulder injury against the Hurricanes.
That final Force push to deny the Blues a bonus-point might be the difference between making or breaking their maiden finals berth.
Despite matching the Blues for competition points (22), Simon Cron's side now sit outside the top-six courtesy of their -59 points differential and could slip as far as ninth if the Waratahs produce an upset over the Brumbies on Saturday.
The Force now have just three games to climb back into contention and next week's home clash with ACT looms a must-win before rounding out their season against Fiji (away) and the Waratahs (home)
The Blues' run home feels similar - next week's trip to Suva looms a banana-skin game before tackling Moana Pasifika and the Waratahs - and you get the sense only one of these two sides will feature come finals.
