Blues 2019
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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.
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@Tim said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
Tanielu Tele’a was a key player for NZ U20s, but it's a huge ask for a 20 year old to play well at 13 at Super Rugby level.
I've seen this posted on the Fern before and it's a myth. Tele'a was cited for a late, dangerous tackle and/or strike against an opponent's head in the second game of the tournament and suspended for the remainder of the tournament. He wasn't a key player at all, unless you mean it in a negative way.
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@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@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.
Another GOTJ?
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@Duluth said in Blues 2019 - (New Head Coach):
@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
I know there is a tendancy to paint everything that occured pre-MacDonald as absolute dogshit, including the recruitment for this season...
But even three years removed, you will have a tough time selling me the idea, that the ability to turn out the AB centre combination that played the winning 40 minutes of the last RWC final is somehow a "mess".
Good mess to have IMO.
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@pakman Is it bad that I read 'GOT' as 'Game of Thrones' - yes - April 14 Winter is here. But really what does 'GOTJ' mean?
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@Daffy-Jaffy George of the Jafas.
Oh. Jungle.
