Blues 2019
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@Machpants said in Blues 2019:
@pukunui yeah it's hard to know where to point the blame, but changes in personnel on the field and coaching box haven't made a difference for years.
Are you pukunui on ENWorld?
Nah not me. This is pretty much the only forum im on these days.
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The Blues have finished another season at the bottom of the New Zealand Super Rugby conference and the post-mortem is already underway. And it seems everyone - including chief executive Michael Redman - is under the microscope. A new board and a new coaching group were ultimately unable to prevent the franchise's campaign coming to another disappointing conclusion. Blowing a 19-point lead against the Hurricanes wasn't how the Blues hoped to end their season. The match wasn't a reflection of the season for chairman Don Mackinnon, but he pulls no punches in his summary of where the Blues are positioned. "Firstly, can I say it's not good enough," Mackinnon told Newshub. "Finishing fifth out of five isn't where we're aiming to be. "We need leaders, no doubt about that. I'm unashamedly going to encourage the organisation to look for talent outside of the region." -
@KiwiMurph good article, echoes my thoughts. I like the board is putting themselves under review as well. For a new board it's living the culture you want.
I'm eternally hopeful, despite recent losses
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THe silver lining of another failed season is we can continue the broom in the back office. The CEO and Hanks need to go as well, they are huge parts of the reason why we are in groundhog day here.
Not sure how the process works with contracts, but we need to fast track moving some of these players on and let Leon put his own stamp on the squad. he clearly doesn't trust the squad based on his selections.
If that's the case, he's better off getting some rookies and working with those.
Obvious holes at 2, 9, 13 that need really good recruitment to fill. Plummer needs help with his goalkicking, whats their plan for that?
Second big test for the new board, do they hold the back office as accountable as the coaches and players? First test was getting rid of Tana, and clearing out the board.
Wonder how we taking advantage of having the NZRU on our board? Can we open up some overseas selections, or poach from other Super Rugby teams?
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@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
Plummer needs help with his goalkicking
Plummer was kicking at 54%
He was a very good kicker in the u20's etc. He seemed to pick up a technical issue in the last NPC when his %age suddenly dropped
If he raised his kicking %age to the low 70's (liker Black, but still lower than some other primary NZ kickers) a couple of results would probably flip.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2019:
"We need leaders, no doubt about that. I'm unashamedly going to encourage the organisation to look for talent outside of the region."
How are they going to attract these 'leaders'?
For my mind, leaders are experienced players, they are struggling to attract much frontline up and coming players, let alone attracting established Super rugby players, and leaders at that.
As with others above, 1st 2 on the chopping block needs to be teflon-Redman and Hanks.
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2019:
How are they going to attract these 'leaders'?
It's a chicken and egg. We need to be not totally dismal, and have a good environment... then you can get season ticket holders, private sponsors, and enough $$$ to throw at some leadership signings. To be not totally dismal though, you need leaders ....
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@Stargazer said in Blues 2019:
Of course, nobody likes being the fifth NZ franchise, but it isn't the biggest problem. To me, it seems, being 13th overall is much worse.
We'll fix that next year when we get to play everyone. Having to play 4 of the gun sides home and away is damn tough
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2019:
@nzzp You mean the year after next. There's still a year left of the Conference system.
aw crap, really? That's a twisted, broken system that no one understands properly. It's shit, and not in the spirit of rugby.
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Redman in frame for clueless Blues season
Canon Rugby in Focus: Jim Kayes trains his sights on elusive Blues chief Michael Redman.
Redman in crosshairs after another clueless Blues season Canon Rugby in Focus: Jim Kayes trains his sights on elusive Blues chief Michael Redman. The text came in just a few minutes after full-time. “Another clueless season.” It was from a mate with a vested interest in the Blues being great again. He’s far from encouraged. It was followed up by another friend who pointed the finger squarely at Blues CEO Michael Redman. “Six years since they split from Auckland Rugby and he took over. They’ve played 94 games under his watch and lost 57. That’s 60 per cent. “Crowds down, sponsorship down, membership decimated.” Redman isn’t talking, at least not until a review of the season has been done, his spokesman said. It’s not surprising as he’s always been an elusive target for those who believe he should carry some of the blame for years of consistent failure. When Sir John Kirwan was being sacked with a thousand cuts, Redman was steadfastly absent from media scrums that saw Kirwan have to explain the process around his own eventual demise. It was embarrassing. Redman survived a recent revamp of the board and odds are he will survive another year of failure, but that doesn’t make his tenure any less mediocre. -
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It's that time again, the season review.
The forwards can be done quickly enough, they were pretty good this year, but lacked a bit of polish and effective leadership.
Loosehead props are quality, so long as Karl T keeps his fitness up. Lindenmuth was impressive on his debut. Hooker is the obvious gap here. Lets hope that Taukei'aho and Abel are on their way. Mike Sosene-Feagai was solid for Auckland, but that's not enough. At tighthead more depth is needed. Mafileo is a bit limited and inconsistent, and Renata is inexperienced - really hoping he steps up a notch in the NPC. Marco Fepulea'i showed a lot of promise in last year's NPC. Really looking forward to watching him in this year's.
Locks are pretty solid, but we lack impact without Tuipulotu starting. Scrafton, coming back from a very serious injury, didn't have quite his usual impact, but was still good. Will be missed. Goodhue lacks "mongrel" but plays quite well in patches. GCT is a decent squad member but nothing special. Pierce didn't make it on to the field. So, we want a high workrate, mobile, technically skilled player to complement Tuipulotu (i.e. a Whitelock type), and a power lock to back him up. Whetton and Pari Pari Parkinson are both unsigned for next season, IIRC. Is Olmstead available? We really should've booted the perma-injured and mediocre Tupou for him. Some more leadership in this position would be great.
Loose forwards were good too, though we do lack a bit of pressure over the ball. Gibson in his come-back season didn't produce enough turnovers, though was solid. Sotutu looks like a good back-up 8. Papalii is shaping up to be a gun at six, and Robinson is handy. Havili and Choat will be interesting to watch in the NPC. Hunt may want to move too, but do we want him? Has looked a bit small in the most recent NPC and Super Rugby seasons. Good for turnovers off the bench? Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa seems like the real deal.
The backs require a lot more changes, and they were generally pretty poor this year, whether it was failing to exit their 22, putting pressure on the 1st 5 and midfield with slow ball, defensive lapses, or failing to be either accurate on attack or able to recognise the opportunities that were in front of them.
It all starts at 9. Poor box-kicking, poor options, slow passes (often for intercepts from the ruck!). Consistently making it hard on the team, failing to exert pressure, and tiring the forwards out with big defensive shifts. Pulu is gone, and Ruru, despite having his moments, is not at Super Rugby quality in his core skills. Sam Nock stopped being afraid of the ball (he has been really dreadful for several years), and showed his skills for a short period of time before getting injured. Bryn Hall, Jonathan Taumateine, and Jamie Booth might be available. Personally, I think that Leon Fukofuka has much better skills than Ruru. Lewis Gjaltema was the top-dog in the B's. Taufa Funaki is the U20's player coming through.
The 10s are OK, but are playing outside of poor halfbacks. Black has a journeyman ceiling IMO, and the other two are both inexperienced. Plummer does a lot of things well, but has developed a serious goal-kicking problem, and lacks a bit of polish. Outside a good halfback, and with a year of development, he could be a really good player at this level. Perofeta might be better spending a season learning the game at 15.
Midfield - well, they did OK without a centre. Faiane should be playing 12, with a genuine 13 in place. Nonu and SBW will be gone, so who will be the recruits? Tele'a looks promising, and is a worthy squad member, but I'd want a more polished player there next year. Definitely want Manu back - he will be a lot better for one season's experience.
Back Three. Well, Duffy looks past it. Clarke improved his skills and awareness, now he needs to back himself more. Tele'a was handy but raw. We missed a trick on Rayasi. Scott Gregory to cover wing and midfield? If Trainor doesn't step up, I really don't know who we will recruit for fullback. Etene Nanai-Seturo is unsigned, but I'm not sure about his quality. Maybe Jordie Barrett?
Overall, if we don't fill the holes, especially at halfback, it will be difficult to be anything more than quarter-finalists. The coach must back his squad and adequately rotate players and use replacements too. Fresher players will be less likely to go through flat patches where the team loses its pattern, and less likely to make ball-handling errors. I hope some patron is breaking out the cheque book ...
Super Rugby Future Is 14 Teams
