Counties Manukau v Auckland
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@pakman said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
If George and Fekitoa could get their passing going they could be a pretty devastating combo. Big if I know.
My concern is them simply running straight. If I was the AK coach that would be my first instruction. One of them to straighten and the other to run a line for a pop.
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@Duluth said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
@Dice said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
Be interesting to see how we manage the midfielders this year.
What would you go for?
Personally I would leave Aso on the wing. Of all the Auckland midfielders he is the one who makes more errors in defence.
TJ should start. He will be the long term Auckland and Blues 12, the sooner he is up to speed the better
Moala, yes he's a ball hog on attack but I would start him at 13. Nonu showed its possible to develop a passing game/decision making mid career.
Fekitoa - he's leaving so no point trying to fix his weaknesses. He makes a very useful impact sub/injury cover though
I'd leave Aso on the wing too. He's actually played some of his best rugby for us when he's been on the wing.
I've definitely got Faiane at 12, but at 13, I'm a bit on the fence between Moala and Fekitoa, mostly because Fekitoa is off.
If we're simply going with who matches up better with Faiane, I think Fekitoa might be the better choice. I think his style of play and play speed goes better with Faiane's style of play, whereas Moala plays a bit slower and doesn't really run any lines, which doesn't really take advantage of Faiane's distribution skills.
Both have their warts, but both should be better than most centres they come up against at this level, so I'm fine with either.
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@Dice said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
@Duluth said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
@Dice said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
Be interesting to see how we manage the midfielders this year.
What would you go for?
Personally I would leave Aso on the wing. Of all the Auckland midfielders he is the one who makes more errors in defence.
TJ should start. He will be the long term Auckland and Blues 12, the sooner he is up to speed the better
Moala, yes he's a ball hog on attack but I would start him at 13. Nonu showed its possible to develop a passing game/decision making mid career.
Fekitoa - he's leaving so no point trying to fix his weaknesses. He makes a very useful impact sub/injury cover though
I'd leave Aso on the wing too. He's actually played some of his best rugby for us when he's been on the wing.
I've definitely got Faiane at 12, but at 13, I'm a bit on the fence between Moala and Fekitoa, mostly because Fekitoa is off.
If we're simply going with who matches up better with Faiane, I think Fekitoa might be the better choice. I think his style of play and play speed goes better with Faiane's style of play, whereas Moala plays a bit slower and doesn't really run any lines, which doesn't really take advantage of Faiane's distribution skills.
Both have their warts, but both should be better than most centres they come up against at this level, so I'm fine with either.
Personally I'd have a TJ/Fekitoa midfield. Don't really care that Fekitoa is off, we are in win now mode. I could be swayed if we put in another talented centre and give him a go, but I wouldn't put Moala there.
I'd have Moala on the wing tbh. But, I'd like to see Clarke given a go, so Moala can come off the bench for impact with an added bonus that he can cover the midfield in case TJ breaks down again.I know people refer to Nonu when talking about Moala, but people forget that Nonu worked with Umaga and Smith. I'm sure working with them helped him develop his game.
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@pakman said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
When George runs straight at 12 he really commits the defence. So if he could offload Fekitoa's pace Woolf be pretty devastating.
I was intrigued as to why a regular on a rugby forum would have auto-correct defaulting to "Woolf"... and did an AskJeeves to figure out if there's something I'm missing.
woolf.bike - now looks like a product I'm considering buying. -
@Tim said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
Interesting to see that Josh Kaifa is now listed on the squad page. I wonder if he is injury cover for Seu?
Auckland Rugby Union
Official site of Auckland Rugby Union. Delivering amateur and professional rugby in Auckland City.
Salesi Rayasi is a big boy for a wing:
Height: 1.97m
Weight: 115kgJebus he's packed it on in the last year or so.
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Good to see us at least matching them physically, something we didn't see last year.
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@African-Monkey some good hustle by Auckland forwards. Akira throwing himself into rucks.
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@Kruse said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
@pakman said in Counties Manukau v Auckland:
When George runs straight at 12 he really commits the defence. So if he could offload Fekitoa's pace Woolf be pretty devastating.
I was intrigued as to why a regular on a rugby forum would have auto-correct defaulting to "Woolf"... and did an AskJeeves to figure out if there's something I'm missing.
woolf.bike - now looks like a product I'm considering buying.Quick post before retiring (under pressure from other half). Fat fingers and auto check converted would to Woolf? Will take a peek at woolf-bike!
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What was Moala thinking there?
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Trainor and Aso with two dumb decisions putting Auckland under pressure. Good thing Akira's there to carry the team.
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Our kicking has been very average.
