Blues 2019
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@Nogusta I would love to see Olmstead on that bench for GCT. They may even go with both Sotutu and Matich (who also went well during pre season) on the bench to cover 7 and let Robinson cover lock. It could be a risk though with the quality of the crusaders locks and scrum.
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@Crucial yea good call cementing Faiane. Maybe a bit unfair on him though to put at 13. Really hoping he puts his injury woes behind him and carries his good M10 form to the Super. Nonu was at 13 and Faiane 12 against the Canes. Faiane was also at 12 against the Chiefs the week before.
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@Daffy-Jaffy yea forgot about Olmstead. I'd have him there too over GCT given he's had a full preseason on top of his stellar 2018 M10
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@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Nogusta Faiane 12 and Nonu 13? I'd be looking the other way around, cement Faiane at 13 and look to rotate Nonu and SBW from starting to bench as the season goes,
.Personally I think Faiane seems more comfortable at 12. Ma will play 13 outside SBW, so it may be easiest to build things around him locked in there.
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Given that Faiane has shown great ability at 13 during NPC and SBW has shown nothing at 13 to date but is an AB 12 the 'planning' of Faiane at 12 confuses me.
All I can think is that SBW is scheduled for a season as bench impact, coming on at 12 with Faiane moving out and old man Ma'a shuffling off.
There will be games where Ma'a and SBW start together but I would think that the majority of starts would go to TJ so giving him a set jersey makes more sense to me. -
@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
Given that Faiane has shown great ability at 13 during NPC and SBW has shown nothing at 13 to date but is an AB 12 the 'planning' of Faiane at 12 confuses me.
Faiane was at 12 in the NPC (Manu was the 13). That’s his normal position
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@Duluth said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
Given that Faiane has shown great ability at 13 during NPC and SBW has shown nothing at 13 to date but is an AB 12 the 'planning' of Faiane at 12 confuses me.
Faiane was at 12 in the NPC (Manu was the 13). That’s his normal position
My bad. For some reason I recalled people saying he played out of position during NPC.
So the Blues have 3 12s and no 13s. Cool.
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I think I spotted young Harbour hooker Loteru Tolai at Blues training on a news clip. Apasai was injured last game and Parsons did not play that game so may also be carrying a knock. Loteru is a big unit for a hooker, listed at at 119kgs but only 20 years old.
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@Daffy-Jaffy I wonder if Kurt Eklund and Jordan Olsen are around too?
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@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
So the Blues have 3 12s and no 13s. Cool.
Yes it’s a mess
TJ was probably not going to get selected, so they signed Nonu before the NPC.
They were probably planning on picking Manu but the Chiefs got interested.
Then TJ had a great NPC and demanded selectionSo now we have 3 good 12s and 2 unproven 13s
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@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Duluth said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
Given that Faiane has shown great ability at 13 during NPC and SBW has shown nothing at 13 to date but is an AB 12 the 'planning' of Faiane at 12 confuses me.
Faiane was at 12 in the NPC (Manu was the 13). That’s his normal position
My bad. For some reason I recalled people saying he played out of position during NPC.
So the Blues have 3 12s and no 13s. Cool.
Rieko?
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Strangely Manu is listed as a Utility back by the Chiefs but I would imagine that, with ALB being the only 'lock in' in the midfield he sees a better opportunity to be a regular 13 in the Tron. His chances to get regular 13 play in the Blues are pretty low.
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@pakman said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Duluth said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@Crucial said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
Given that Faiane has shown great ability at 13 during NPC and SBW has shown nothing at 13 to date but is an AB 12 the 'planning' of Faiane at 12 confuses me.
Faiane was at 12 in the NPC (Manu was the 13). That’s his normal position
My bad. For some reason I recalled people saying he played out of position during NPC.
So the Blues have 3 12s and no 13s. Cool.
Rieko?
Nah. He can move there when he gets older and loses speed.
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@Crucial I think Tele'a will make an impact when he gets an opportunity. The thing with new young 'power' type players at this level is they often try to do too much leading to errors (miracle balls or loosing possession) after breaking or bending the line. That is what made ALB so good as a rookie with his line breaking then accurate option taking and quality passing marking him straight away as an AB prospect. Tele'a is very powerful and holds several Auckland strength records. Time will tell if he has other qualities. I saw that he started the last game on the wing which will help him get a go on the bench if he can cover wing and midfield.
