Crusaders 2026
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@SouthernMann said in Crusaders 2026:
@frugby said in Crusaders 2026:
All the NZ sides had their hookers locked in… case of following the opportunities.
Seems insane nobody could find room for him though.
Franchises have gotten rid of several players under contract recently. Moananu was in the top half a dozen hookers in NZ. If he wanted to have stayed someone could have got paid out to make room for him.
It reads like he decided Sydney was better than NZ, and good on him.
It might read like that, but I’m telling you that isn’t the case. The fact he has only signed for 2026, is notable in that regard.
I also think he probably isn’t rated as highly internally as he is on here.
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@Bovidae said in Crusaders 2026:
@frugby said in Crusaders 2026:
All the NZ sides had their hookers locked in… case of following the opportunities.
Who have MP signed? Both Sama Malolo and Tomasi Maka were listed amongst the 15 players leaving. That only leaves Mills Sanerivi and Sam Moli.
Not sure… I had heard that NZ sides so not sure whether that included MP.
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@frugby said in Crusaders 2026:
All the NZ sides had their hookers locked in… case of following the opportunities.
Seems insane nobody could find room for him though.
Wow, I didn’t expect him to go to Australia. That Slater signing threw an even bigger spanner than first thought. I’ll wear that one. A shame he’s leaving New Zealand
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@frugby said in Crusaders 2026:
@SouthernMann said in Crusaders 2026:
@frugby said in Crusaders 2026:
All the NZ sides had their hookers locked in… case of following the opportunities.
Seems insane nobody could find room for him though.
Franchises have gotten rid of several players under contract recently. Moananu was in the top half a dozen hookers in NZ. If he wanted to have stayed someone could have got paid out to make room for him.
It reads like he decided Sydney was better than NZ, and good on him.
It might read like that, but I’m telling you that isn’t the case. The fact he has only signed for 2026, is notable in that regard.
I also think he probably isn’t rated as highly internally as he is on here.
He may not be rated as highly as members of an anonymous internet forum think... but
He should be rated higher than
H Bell, Vikena, Devery, Tuputupu, Slater, Eklund and Mullan.
That is more than 50% of the contractd hookers.
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Codie Taylor, George Bell, Manumaua Letiu(NZ 20’s and already had a Crusaders debut) and Eli Oudenryn(NZ 20’s and u20 super rugby player of the tournament). Crusaders are in ag good place at hooker even with Moananu leaving.
I wonder if they can keep both youngsters and have 1 in the wider training group. Eli will have plenty of franchises attention now.
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@Duluth said in Crusaders 2026:
@African-Monkey giving a multi year contract to an unproven guy like Mullan was the bigger error. He better improve fast
It's looking that way currently, as he barely played last season, and he looks like he'll be nothing more than a bit part player next season too.
Sorry, don't mean to derail the Crusaders thread like this, but crazy that no NZ side could find Moananu a spot on their rosters.
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@Landers92 said in Crusaders 2026:
Codie Taylor, George Bell, Manumaua Letiu(NZ 20’s and already had a Crusaders debut) and Eli Oudenryn(NZ 20’s and u20 super rugby player of the tournament). Crusaders are in ag good place at hooker even with Moananu leaving.
I wonder if they can keep both youngsters and have 1 in the wider training group. Eli will have plenty of franchises attention now.
Isn’t Eli from Palmy Boys? The Canes should go hard for his signature.
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@KiwiMurph And therein lies the whole problem with our super rugby contracting. The best 15 hookers in the country won't be selected for 2026. Also factor in that new talent will emerge from the NPC this year who also won't get a look in ,as the super rosters are pretty much full up already
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@Kiwidom said in Crusaders 2026:
@KiwiMurph And therein lies the whole problem with our super rugby contracting. The best 15 hookers in the country won't be selected for 2026. Also factor in that new talent will emerge from the NPC this year who also won't get a look in ,as the super rosters are pretty much full up already
What would you propose as a solution? Feels like it's almost impossible to avoid.
If one of the Super Rugby teams were desperate for a long-term hooker and felt Moananu was their man, surely they'd just bring him in in place of a loose forward etc.
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@Mr-Fish I don't think there is a solution to be honest. I liked when Graham Henry was AB coach ,when the AB coaches would have some input into the super team squad selections. This was when the crusaders were stockpiling first fives, to ensure the talent was spread around evenly.
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It’s a bit back to the future but I’d only allow teams to contract max 28 players, then I’d have a draft like the old early days of Super to fill up the remaining (8-10?) spots on their roster.
That would create some jeopardy and create some genuine competition between franchises for players.
I think it would allow franchises to retain their best players still but force them to make decisions about where they ‘stockpile’ any depth. -
I like the idea, but equally players also want stability, so you may just see the guys - who would get picked up - leave to know where they'll be. In other words, things could get even worse.
I'm not sure we pay enough, and that NZ is cheap enough, for people to just pick up their families and move to a new place if they get left out and dependent on the draft.
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@Mr-Fish said in Crusaders 2026:
What would you propose as a solution?
More pro teams. Which is complex.
However the AB's need 3 hookers, 3 halfbacks etc and there is only 5 starting on any weekend. There's not enough chances for players to prove themselves
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@Duluth said in Crusaders 2026:
@Mr-Fish said in Crusaders 2026:
What would you propose as a solution?
More pro teams. Which is complex.
However the AB's need 3 hookers, 3 halfbacks etc and there is only 5 starting on any weekend. There's not enough chances for players to prove themselves
We need to consider the prospect of specialist bench players similar to the South Africans. They do of course rotate those players but some play more off the bench.
To a degree this already happens with Tosi who usually has Lomax ahead of him for the Canes. Players who know how to empty the tank in 20 to 40 minutes.
A lot of Moananu games have been off the bench.
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@Duluth said in Crusaders 2026:
@brodean said in Crusaders 2026:
A lot of Moananu games have been off the bench.
..and now his minutes will be for the Waratahs. What you're talking about doesn't address the current pro contract situation in NZ
I agree with that it doesn't address the contract situation but your post did ignore the bench players. We still have this mindset that the bench players are the players who are not as good. Players can still develop off the bench. Most weekends there are 10 hookers getting some development.
Regarding the pro contract situation the competition and the teams have to be sustainable. We've seen the Rebels fold and we are now seeing MP really struggling after a few years. The answer is not more teams at this time.
Any NZ player playing in any Super Rugby team whether it be here or in Australia should be eligible to play for the All Blacks. Moananu should still be eligible to play for the AB's while he plays for the Waratahs. Then the Waratahs are footing the bill for his contract and we would have more AB eligible players playing in the hooker role.
Australia still don't have enough players for 4 competitive teams. We can work together to solve this issue and have a more balanced comp which would make it more attractive to fans.
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@brodean said in Crusaders 2026:
We've seen the Rebels fold and we are now seeing MP really struggling after a few years. The answer is not more teams at this time.
Rebels are irrelevant as that's specific to the Aussie trying to build support where there is little. MP are a confused entity, every other team in the competition is regional
Adding a teams wouldn't be about keeping the same amount of revenue it would be growing the total revenue.
There's a myth that pro rugby must be played in the main centres. There would be a lot more engagement if players played closer to where they are from. SR lacks tribalism that teams more connected to their region would bring. Is it possible to make a more interesting and simple to follow version of SR? Of course.
There's obstacles obviously, but the idea that we have the optimal season and contracting situation right now is nuts. It's a mess.
There's other threads on this though
