Your 4 midfielders for the Lions
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@No-Quarter said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
My four midfielders would be
ALB
Crotty
Fekitoa
ProctorALB and Crotty an absolute lock to start, I'll be very disappointed if they don't. Fekitoa provides great impact off the bench smacking guys backwards, and Proctor very good injury cover as a like-for-like replacement for ALB or Crotty.
I'm disappointed Moala hasn't kicked on, though I don't think 12 is his best position. Starting to think 11 is his best position given his lack of distribution skills.
No SBW? Have you taken leave of your senses?
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@pukunui said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
My money would be on Crotty, ALB, SBW and Fekitoa being "the four" injury permitting. However it wouldn't surprise me to see Rieko Ioane in the squad also given Dagg, NMS and Naholo are all currently injured and may not get much rugby before the Lions arrive.
Yep. It's hard to go past those four, with Ioane in the wings as a midfielder and, in the meantime, a decent chance to be selected on the wing.
The other guy that is coming is Jack Goodhue. If he kills Conrad Smith he can be his reincarnation.
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i think they will go for all out experience against the lions ,
And go with Crotty , ALB, Fekitoa and SBW,
With other promising midfielders such as proctor perhaps getting a look in later opportunities , such as the EOYT
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@kiwiinmelb They may need injuries to open up places for them.
Midfield is hugely competitive - there's potentially a dozen midfield players who wouldn't look out of place in an AB backline - SBW, Moala, Ioane, Ngatai, ALB, Proctor, Laumape, Crotty, Goodhue, Tamanivalu, Fekitoa, Thompson, Buckman - and maybe a couple of others I'm forgetting.
Breaking in will be difficult.
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@Chris-B. Yeah crotty , fekitoa sbw have been in the system for some time now , alb was impressive last year ,
Unless someone gets injured or pisses shag off ( which is why I asked earlier in the thread about fekitoa signing beyond this year )
I can't imagine anyone getting past these 4 for an all important series -
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@Bones its ok when a non-Northlander does it!
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@taniwharugby not for rotated it's not.
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@Chris-B. said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
@kiwiinmelb They may need injuries to open up places for them.
Midfield is hugely competitive - there's potentially a dozen midfield players who wouldn't look out of place in an AB backline - SBW, Moala, Ioane, Ngatai, ALB, Proctor, Laumape, Crotty, Goodhue, Tamanivalu, Fekitoa, Thompson, Buckman - and maybe a couple of others I'm forgetting.
Breaking in will be difficult.
Has NZ rugby ever been so rich in talent as far as midfield is concerned ?
Lock is another position where is depth is ridiculous (Retallick, Whitelock, Barrett, Romano, Tuipolutu, Bird, Franklin, Fatialofa, Fifita, Abbott plus emerging players like Cowley-Tuoti and Scrafton).
Actually, I think Nr.8 is the only position where there is no depth at all (the Chiefs are playing a Japanese international while the Hurricanes use A. Savea as a Nr.8, Luatua's leaving at the end of the season). -
@cgrant said
Actually, I think Nr.8 is the only position where there is no depth at all (the Chiefs are playing a Japanese international while the Hurricanes use A. Savea as a Nr.8, Luatua's leaving at the end of the season).
Hooker?
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I don't think our depth at lock is that great either, massive drop from BBBR/Whitelock to the next best. Plenty of guys with potential but no proven performers at test level.
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@Chester-Draws said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
@cgrant said
Actually, I think Nr.8 is the only position where there is no depth at all (the Chiefs are playing a Japanese international while the Hurricanes use A. Savea as a Nr.8, Luatua's leaving at the end of the season).
Hooker?
Well, behind Coles, Coltman is gaving a great season so far while Codie Taylor is OK. Hika Elliott is not a selectors' favorite but he's very strong and his throwing is very accurate. Riccitelli and Apisai are developping well too. They are very promising, as is Aumua who is very impressive in terms of dynamism.
Nathan Harris has plenty of potential but he is very unlucky. Let's hope he won't be injured again. -
@Chester-Draws said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
@cgrant said
Actually, I think Nr.8 is the only position where there is no depth at all (the Chiefs are playing a Japanese international while the Hurricanes use A. Savea as a Nr.8, Luatua's leaving at the end of the season).
Hooker?
Coles, Taylor, Harris, Coltman, Funnell, Riccitelli, Elliott ... oh yeah and Parsons
.. or not ... -
@No-Quarter said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
I don't think our depth at lock is that great either, massive drop from BBBR/Whitelock to the next best. Plenty of guys with potential but no proven performers at test level.
Hmmm ...
Romano. Barrett. Tuipolutu. Bird..
Would be more than comfortable with any of those guys starting. Especially if it's with one of the the "normal" starters. But hey two of them ain't bad.
Throw in Fifita or Luatua (for the Lions ..
Fuck him leaving ... ) as a benchie, and Fatialofa or GCT as future prospects am not uncomfortable about our locking future. -
Rumours of a Fekitoa move to Wasps. He's barely scratched the surface in NZ. If he signs before the Lions I'd be more than comfortable with him not getting selected.
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@booboo said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
Romano. Barrett. Tuipolutu. Bird..
Would be more than comfortable with any of those guys starting. Especially if it's with one of the the "normal" starters. But hey two of them ain't bad.
Thats still a massive step down tho', we'd be going from the best locking unit in the world to one that probably wont disgrace itself. In contrast we lose A Smith, TJ steps in. Barrett - Cruden, Savea - Naholo, Dagg - NMS etc.
Our gameplan relies on Whitelock & Retalick to a huge degree. And as NQ says, none of those guys are proven test performers, Bird was awful at test level, Tui is an impact sub, Romano has been consistently "OK-ish" when starting & Barrett has played 10 minutes & is currently a 6...
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@Billy-Tell said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
Rumours of a Fekitoa move to Wasps. He's barely scratched the surface in NZ. If he signs before the Lions I'd be more than comfortable with him not getting selected.
With the depth available , I would go along with that
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@gollum said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
@booboo said in Your 4 midfielders for the Lions:
Romano. Barrett. Tuipolutu. Bird..
Would be more than comfortable with any of those guys starting. Especially if it's with one of the the "normal" starters. But hey two of them ain't bad.
Thats still a massive step down tho', we'd be going from the best locking unit in the world to one that probably wont disgrace itself. In contrast we lose A Smith, TJ steps in. Barrett - Cruden, Savea - Naholo, Dagg - NMS etc.
Our gameplan relies on Whitelock & Retalick to a huge degree. And as NQ says, none of those guys are proven test performers, Bird was awful at test level, Tui is an impact sub, Romano has been consistently "OK-ish" when starting & Barrett has played 10 minutes & is currently a 6...
I think your glass needs a top up: it's half empty..
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