Crusaders v Blues
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Great game from Goodhue, Bridge, Tamanivalu and Mo'unga the stand-outs tonight. Good effort from the Blues in the first half, but mainly benefiting from Crusaders' mistakes and not creating much. A few very good scrums though, among them the one that led to the penalty try.
Radio commentary with Corey Flynn was very good; not wearing an eye patch. I can't remember exactly what he said at the beginning of the game, but he explained well what he thinks Akira is doing wrong and why he may struggle to get that AB spot if he doesn't improve. I wish I had recorded it.
I'm starting to change my mind on Bridge and think he may be a future AB prospect. He made some huge tackles during this game, most notably in the first half against Kaino, Akira and another big player (I can't remember who it was). He has an incredible work rate. I think he's better than Lam because Lam is a bit of a one trick pony and faded away strongly during the season. I think the only thing stopping him from being picked for the EOYT is the queue, but he's very Ben Smith like and he may have a good chance after the RWC (and hence, another year in SR). He's only in his 2nd SR season, so he has time on his side and I also don't see Naholo staying in NZ after the RWC.
Commiserations to all Blues supporters for the season. It's awful to see your team struggle year after year. Let's hope Leon MacDonald (and Coventry if he joins the coaching staff) will be able to bring the necessary improvement.
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Yeah he's not come back any crack. Sad really cos he was a joy to watch, still the very occasional Skudder step, but not much else. Lam has been lame second half of the season, just like the canes so he's not likely - unless he goes awesome in the knock outs.
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@stargazer said in Crusaders v Blues:
explained well what he thinks Akira is doing wrong and why he may struggle to get that AB spot if he doesn't improve
Synopsis?
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@northlandallday the backline defence has been poor in recent games. The other issues are one on one tackles, and work rate with a missed tackle usually leading to a try. Good teams make mistakes but don’t crumble. Blues don’t play well enough without the ball.
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@tim Sorry, I can't. I find it hard to remember because he talked while the game had already started and there was a lot of - what I call - "forward lingo" in it. It made a lot of sense to me when I heard it, especially when he pointed out a few examples while the game was going on. That was during that period early in the first half when the Blues were close to the Crusaders try line, but didn't manage to score.
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What the fuck is with the constant use of "learnings" by coaches, players and the post match tv guys? Coaching 101 buzz word?
Why not say lessons?Thought Goodhue was awesome tonight.
Closest thing to Nonu NZ have had since Nonu.Duffy comically bad. Can't remember a single good thing he has done this year.
Rieko at 12 is a disaster.What happened to Read? Was he just given a rest?
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@pukunui said in Crusaders v Blues:
What the fuck is with the constant use of "learnings" by coaches, players and the post match tv guys? Coaching 101 buzz word?
Why not say lessons?Thought Goodhue was awesome tonight.
Closest thing to Nonu NZ have had since Nonu.Duffy comically bad. Can't remember a single good thing he has done this year.
Rieko at 12 is a disaster.What happened to Read? Was he just given a rest?
I reckon more like a bigger, more physical version of Conrad Smith. Has a high work rate and very intelligent like Conrad.
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@kiwimurph said in Crusaders v Blues:
@canerbry said in Crusaders v Blues:
@kirwan Not based on any evidence recently they're not.
Bridge is great at running in easy tries. The new Scott Hamilton.
They look like hat eating words right there...
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@toddy said in Crusaders v Blues:
@kiwimurph said in Crusaders v Blues:
@canerbry said in Crusaders v Blues:
@kirwan Not based on any evidence recently they're not.
Bridge is great at running in easy tries. The new Scott Hamilton.
They look like hat eating words right there...
I carefully avoided that scenario this time. He looks more like a fast Caleb Ralph end of a chain player.
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Tana is a joke shop coach who, in any professional organisation worthy of the name, would be walked. What a shit show, the entire organisation is a disgrace. I genuinely feel sorry for the fans, and you guys on here deserve so much better.
How can you build a winning mentality without transparent accountability?
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Does Crotty ever play a match and not get injured?
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@tim said in Crusaders v Blues:
Crusader B’s should be okay for Super rugby, I’m more concerned about our test side for the 4Ns without these two.
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@act-crusader I think the AB coaches start from the assumption Crotty won't be playing. It's not like there is any chance he'll play the entire 4N intact.
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@tim said in Crusaders v Blues:
Braydon Ennor is in the reserves instead of Manasa Mataele for the Crusaders ... latter suffered a minor injury at training on Thurs we are told
I was pleased to see this, because a) I thought for some reason Ennor was out injured and b) because my opinion of Mateale dipped considerably after he was easily mowed down vs the Highlanders. I don't even know if he touched the ball though did he??
