Blues 2018
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@rocky-rockbottom said in Blues 2018:
my expert pre-season prediction had Blues at 1 and 3 at this stage.
Next pod of matches I had them going 4 and 2.
Then to close off the season, 4 of the last 6 matches vs the Hurricanes and the New England Crusaders OF COURSE A PERFECT TIME TO START COMING INTO SOME FORM TO GEAR UP FOR A RUN AT THE PLAYOFFS. FFSTHIS IS OUR YEAR
@Rocky-Rockbottom and I will be the only blue tinted die hards guzzling lion red, crying into our beards and lamenting the demise of the Greatest Provincial Rugby Team Of All Time (GPRTOAT) and how far the administrators and players of the mighty blue and white hoops have fallen from our glory years.
Could be another long year ... ever win is a false dawn, every light is a train, etc etc etc
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I think the Blues Development team played the Chiefs Development team on Friday, but no team line-up or info on the game has been released.
I saw Papali'i training and catching some balls on the news last week, so the hand seems OK. I wonder if he got some game time with the Development team on Friday.
I'd start Pryor at 7 this week and bring Papali'i on the bench if he's ready.
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@dice Yeah, according to the ticket direct website, it was the curtain raiser to Chiefs v Highlanders in Hamilton. Really odd there hasn't been any info whatsoever on either the Chiefs or the Blues social media accounts. Maybe one of the Chiefs faithfull who went to the game on Friday knows whether this cutain raiser was indeed played and has more info?
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@rocky-rockbottom said in Blues 2018:
ps another one of my brilliant theories that I just thought of now is i'm starting to think these coaches have fuckall to do with results. what effect do they have? 10%? Colin Cooper is a "better" coach than Tana? iHomo it's down to the senior players in the team, setting a standard that everyone else tries to live up to. See cantabs culture and theri performance over the weekend compared to Blues. Playing for each other and for the good of the team. So young shits come into the team and DO NOT want to let the older players down.
The exact opposite of the lazy, unravelled, rudderless fuckwit tyre fire Blues.
Tana could scream his nuts off all week to those sleepy drongos but without any players in your team you dont give a fuck about letting down its all for noughtThis is what I don't understand - the Blues have All Blacks. They know what's required to perform consistently at the highest level.
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@rocky-rockbottom said in Blues 2018:
ps another one of my brilliant theories that I just thought of now is i'm starting to think these coaches have fuckall to do with results. what effect do they have? 10%? Colin Cooper is a "better" coach than Tana? iHomo it's down to the senior players in the team, setting a standard that everyone else tries to live up to. See cantabs culture and theri performance over the weekend compared to Blues. Playing for each other and for the good of the team. So young shits come into the team and DO NOT want to let the older players down.
The exact opposite of the lazy, unravelled, rudderless fuckwit tyre fire Blues.
Tana could scream his nuts off all week to those sleepy drongos but without any players in your team you dont give a fuck about letting down its all for nought
I disagree. The coach is extremely important.
The coach needs to understand what makes their players grow and find the optimum conditions for them to be better.
Screaming at players isn't what a good coach does..The blues have shown a lot of areas where they are brilliant as individuals.. But they still haven't developed that team mentality.. that to me falls on the coach, not the players
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Quite a good small listen.
Wilson touches on wider issues too (Blues vs Auckland)
Wilson told the Radio Sport Breakfast that he doesn't think the Blues are in a better state this season. "Sir John Kirwan made some gains when he was there, Pat Lam took them to the playoffs and it was the moment the season didn't go as planned, he was fired...and didn't get the opportunity to right the ship. "Are they prepared to stick with Tana and his coaching team to right the ship through the season? "The trend is so poor with Auckland and the Blues they can't at the moment, in anyway shape or form, bring the fans into the stands to support them, and why would you?" -
He's right that Lam doesn't deserve to be lumped in with Kirwan/Umaga
He's right there's been no improvement under Umaga
He's right that the Patrick McKendry article at the start of the year was wrong
He's wrong about the player situation. He's fighting the last war.
When he was in Lam's setup they were restricted to picking from the region. That isn't the case anymore, this team has recruited heavily from outside the region (Manu, SWB, Francis, Pulu, Tupou, Gatland, Hodgman, Perofeta, Black, Apisai, Guyton, O'Donnell, Colllins, Faiva etc).
The performance of the ring-ins has been mixed. Particularly when compared to some of the exports (Fatialofa, Seu, Aso, Lam, Hall)He is right to mention the split in the boards. The rumours of childish friction between the ARU and the Blues board aren't great
(Worth pointing out that the ARU wanted Kirwan sacked and the Blues wanted the Kirwan/Matson compromise... I think the Blues board might be the root cause. Does memories of Umaga as a player make their giney tingle like Kirwan's history did?) -
@duluth said in Blues 2018:
He's wrong about the player situation. He's fighting the last war.
When he was in Lam's setup they were restricted to picking from the region. That isn't the case anymore, this team has recruited heavily from outside the region (Manu, SWB, Francis, Pulu, Tupou, Gatland, Hodgman, Perofeta, Black, Apisai, Guyton, O'Donnell, Colllins, Faiva etc).
The performance of the ring-ins has been mixed. Particularly when compared to some of the exports (Fatialofa, Seu, Aso, Lam, Hall)I think what Goldie was getting at was for the Blues to be successful they realistically need it to be from local players mostly - while the Blues can certainly offer contracts to players from all over the country the really good players are probably going to see the Blues as a last choice option. Most of those players you mention above came to the Blues as a last option (the Counties guys while technically not in the Blues region live in Auckland anyway so i'd lump them in as local).
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@kiwimurph said in Blues 2018:
(the Counties guys while technically not in the Blues region live in Auckland anyway so i'd lump them in as local)
My point is more relevant if you use the real region. They are imports and they've been mixed.
I do find the Blues a little confused about where they represent now.
I was at a game last year where thanking volunteers from all over the Blues region - from Counties, Auckland and North Harbour. The org from top to bottom is run by retards. -
@duluth there had long been friction between the Blues board and Auckland, well and Northland and I assume NH as well.
IMO Dalton was a big factor in a lot of issues with both Auckland and the Blues over the years, you'd of thought they shoulda all got over it with him gone, but maybe the culture he instilled lingers on.
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@taniwharugby Auckland rugby have had a fair bit of change in the last few months with a new Chairman (Stu Mather), a new Director (Keven Mealamu) and a whole new coaching team (Ieremia/Henry/Tiatia/Lavea) so it should be interesting to see how the relationship develops moving forward.
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@steven-harris Blues A vs Chiefs A from Good Friday. Blues won 24-22.
Blues team sheet:
1- Ezekiel Lindemuth
2 - Kurt Eklund
3 - Isaac Salmon
4 - Ben Neenee
5- Jacob Pierce
6 - Sam Slade
7 - Dalton Papali’i
8- Hoskins Sotutu
9 - Harrison Levien
10 - Daniel Kirkpatrick
11 - Mark Telea
12 - Tumua Manu
13- Tanielu Tele’a
14 - Jordan Hyland
15 - Orbyn Leger16 - Luteru Tolai
17 - Rob Cobb
18 - Isi Tu’ungafasi
19 - Masaki Kondo
20 - Anotonio Kirikiri
21 - Lewis Gjaltema
22 - Song Gi Paku
23 - Scott Gregory
24 - Loketi Manu
25 - Waimana Reidlinger-Kapa -
Comments on the Blues Development team from the video above
1 Lindemuth - very good at core roles - handy around the field too
2 Eklund - very good game - lineout throwing superb - his lineout throwing has come a remarkable way in the last 12 months or so. Ball in hand he had some nice runs in the second half. Should be a full squad member of the Blues.
3 Salmon - very similar to Lindemuth - went well.
4 - Neenee - was ok - nothing special - similar to his M10 Cup form.
5 - Pierce - good lineout work - fine around the field without lighting it up.
6 - Slade - didn't play much - got replaced by 26 (not sure who that is?) who looked out of his depth a bit.
7 Papalii - worked his way into the game - really has a physical presence and a good rugby brain - played the full 80 - should be starting 7 for Blues this weekend.
8 Sotutu - really mobile and skillful for a big guy, makes a lot of plays, reminds me a lot of Luatua. Huge future.9 Levein - mostly a good game - i've seen him play before and he has underwhelmed but he was pretty good - quick crisp passing, good committed defense, even nabbed a ruck turnover. Made a few mistakes as the game wore on.
10 Kirkpatrick - had a nice run to start the game - was a bit greedy going for the line himself on one occassion and turning it over.
11 Telea - dangerous ball in hand that had to be accounted for - kicked chased well and defended well too. Looked useful.
12 Tumua Manu - very solid - few errors - underrated player - can play wing too.
13 Tele'a - looks a good prospect - good size, has vision, good skillset, mostly good midfield defence (though he got beaten badly on the outside for a Chiefs set piece try) - for such a young guy he is impressive - though he went off with a leg/foot injury of some kind - was down for a long time.
14 Hyland - doesn't look like a winger but was really solid in everything he did - deceptively strong and runs good lines, showed off a nice boot on one occasion.
15 - Leger - hard to evaluate cos he is playing out of position but he made a good fist of 15 and also played 10.In terms of the bench I thought Gregory probably stood out the most - he's on the smallish/wirey side but looked useful ball in hand.
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