Chiefs v Blues
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What a bloody game. Had me sweating at the end and tbh I didn't give the Blues a chance but man they came to play. Chiefs goal line defence was dogshit and could have cost them the game. First time getting back to back wins over the Blues since 2019 cheeeeehoooooo.
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Blues really surprised me especially given some of the late changes ,Kurt Eklund coming in for his first game of the season not to mention the many unavailable
Xavi Taele making what i thought was very eye catching debut.
I know there is talk about his size but having watched Xavi play against the Chiefs and Moana Dev teams 2 x weeks in a row be assured he can handle himself .If the Blues and its and if i truly believe they will have teams looking over their shoulder
Unlike last year when 3 or 4 teams put a break on the pack i think this year comp have no easy games offers a life line for the Blues
Imperative they start winning -
Does Taele play 10 as well?
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@Crazy-Horse said in Chiefs v Blues:
Does Taele play 10 as well?
Schoolboys I think? He covered ten from the bench in an NPC game last year (Auckland had a lot of injuries in that position). He looks like a natural midfielder to me. Plus there's Rico Simpson coming through at 10
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Taele played at 1st 5 for St Kents, and for the NZ Schools against Fiji Schools in 2022. He was listed as a 1st 5/midfield back then.
This was a game with plenty of momentum changes. We weren't impressed with BOK ignoring an obvious lineout interference with a couple of minutes to go. That should have been a penalty to the Chiefs given he penalised Ah Kuoi for less in an earlier lineout.
I agree with @ARHS, that the Blues often box kicked too deep. Ratima's try had us standing up.
Lam was limping before he scored his try. I was expecting him to go off then.
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@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
It's easier for halfbacks to look good as a sub.
2-3 years ago the Blues kept rotating the halfbacks because they all looked good as subs but struggled when starting. Last year Funaki suddenly improved and/or his style really suited Cotter's game plan. His injury is having a big effect on this season
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@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same. -
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.The point about Christie is how slow he is to get to and/or clear the ball. The Blues last year were all about fast ball and getting moving close in. This year they're slower but also have gone a long way from last years blueprint. I find it confusing how people are saying 'they haven't evolved their gameplan'. I think that is rubbish, they have gone too far - they are kicking probably twice as much as last year, for example
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@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.This feels like gaslighting. Christie doesn't get marked hard because he was an All Black.
The Blues attack when Christie starts looks really poor because he has real issues on attack - he's both a slow and poor decision maker from the breakdown, he has a high error rate and he struggles with messy ball.
That's not to say Nock is perfect - Nock has issues on defence and his kicking game is weak.
However - on balance I'd prefer Nock to keep starting. I'm willing to roll with Nock's weaknesses and get the benefit of the attacking shape.
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I think Nock fits the Blues style better with his quicker service, but then you need to account for his other shortcomings; kicking game is hit and miss, defence creaky, and he doesnt boss his forwards (9s should be made to watch and listen to Aaron Smith)
I have struggled to understand both the Blues and Nock in thier persistence here....Nock in particular, he seems comfortable in being a bench player, where is the drive to be a starter, and if Funaki wasnt injured, he'd likely not even be on the bench. Always thought a change of environment would do him great.
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@Machpants said in Chiefs v Blues:
This year they're slower but also have gone a long way from last years blueprint. I find it confusing how people are saying 'they haven't evolved their gameplan'. I think that is rubbish, they have gone too far - they are kicking probably twice as much as last year, for example
Volume of kicking is probably similar but the type of kicking has changed.
Last year the Blues refused to play rugby in their own half. This year there's been a lot of cross kicks, short kick etc. The poorly directed cross kicks in particular are cancer to a large forward pack. Thats a large part of why the pack has gassed in several games and the second halves have generally been bad
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@Duluth said in Chiefs v Blues:
This year there's been a lot of cross kicks, short kick etc.
is BB also the backline coach?
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@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.This feels like gaslighting. Christie doesn't get marked hard because he was an All Black.
The Blues attack when Christie starts looks really poor because he has real issues on attack - he's both a slow and poor decision maker from the breakdown, he has a high error rate and he struggles with messy ball.
That's not to say Nock is perfect - Nock has issues on defence and his kicking game is weak.
However - on balance I'd prefer Nock to keep starting. I'm willing to roll with Nock's weaknesses and get the benefit of the attacking shape.
I not a Blues man, so I don't probably really examine how some of their players go. But just my opinion is that Nock and Plummer are handbrakes on Blues if they trying to play anything but power style they played last year. I also said same about BB, he wasn't Blues'problem in first few games (neither were Nock,Chistie etc) , the problem in first games were forwards, and their ability to support.
Mind you that's just how I saw it, and as I say I pretty neutral on how Blues go. -
@Machpants said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.The point about Christie is how slow he is to get to and/or clear the ball. The Blues last year were all about fast ball and getting moving close in. This year they're slower but also have gone a long way from last years blueprint. I find it confusing how people are saying 'they haven't evolved their gameplan'. I think that is rubbish, they have gone too far - they are kicking probably twice as much as last year, for example
On ARP Bryn Hall mentioned that the stats indicated that Christie was fastest NZ halfback at getting to rucks. After that…
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@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.This feels like gaslighting. Christie doesn't get marked hard because he was an All Black.
The Blues attack when Christie starts looks really poor because he has real issues on attack - he's both a slow and poor decision maker from the breakdown, he has a high error rate and he struggles with messy ball.
That's not to say Nock is perfect - Nock has issues on defence and his kicking game is weak.
However - on balance I'd prefer Nock to keep starting. I'm willing to roll with Nock's weaknesses and get the benefit of the attacking shape.
I not a Blues man, so I don't probably really examine how some of their players go. But just my opinion is that Nock and Plummer are handbrakes on Blues if they trying to play anything but power style they played last year. I also said same about BB, he wasn't Blues'problem in first few games (neither were Nock,Chistie etc) , the problem in first games were forwards, and their ability to support.
Mind you that's just how I saw it, and as I say I pretty neutral on how Blues go.I am an admirer of Harry Plummer as a great asset in the Blues squad. That said, it is obvious that BB and SP have dramatically upped the Blues’s tempo when they’ve been at 10. That has significantly improved the effectiveness of the Blues backs.
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@pakman said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Blues:
@Mr-Fish said in Chiefs v Blues:
Finlay Christie has (rightfully) copped a lot of criticism on here but Sam Nock's kicking was abysmal on Saturday.
I agree really , not really a Christie fan, but in general would start him ahead of Nock. I don't get the Nock love , he's ok ,but in I don't think he anything special by any means.
I do suspect we mark players who are or have been ABs a lot harder? Understand why up to a point, but for some players don't seem to be makred the same.This feels like gaslighting. Christie doesn't get marked hard because he was an All Black.
The Blues attack when Christie starts looks really poor because he has real issues on attack - he's both a slow and poor decision maker from the breakdown, he has a high error rate and he struggles with messy ball.
That's not to say Nock is perfect - Nock has issues on defence and his kicking game is weak.
However - on balance I'd prefer Nock to keep starting. I'm willing to roll with Nock's weaknesses and get the benefit of the attacking shape.
I not a Blues man, so I don't probably really examine how some of their players go. But just my opinion is that Nock and Plummer are handbrakes on Blues if they trying to play anything but power style they played last year. I also said same about BB, he wasn't Blues'problem in first few games (neither were Nock,Chistie etc) , the problem in first games were forwards, and their ability to support.
Mind you that's just how I saw it, and as I say I pretty neutral on how Blues go.I am an admirer of Harry Plummer as a great asset in the Blues squad. That said, it is obvious that BB and SP have dramatically upped the Blues’s tempo when they’ve been at 10. That has significantly improved the effectiveness of the Blues backs.
This might explain why Plummer's AB chances were somewhat limited.
