NPC - news, injuries etc
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@taniwharugby apparently Rivers Reihana came on for the last 10 minutes and was the best of 10s😂
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@steven-harris well my feelings on Hawkins are well known, so it was never gonna be hard to be better...
While it'd be nice to win pre season games, ultimately they end up meaning jack shit.
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Went along to this today. 43-17 to Harbour. Harbour came out of the blocks firing after conceding the first try to Blake Hohaia. They were up by nearly 30 at the break.
There were no team lists avaible which was poor, so excuse me if I get names etc wrong. This was coupled with the fact Northland played in what looked like training shirts, half of which weren’t numbered.
Northland dominated the second half but never really looked like overhauling Harbours lead at any point.
One thing to note is that all Northland’s super players were rested and Harbour had the likes of Gatland and that Blues back up hooker (forget his name) on deck amongst some other familiar faces.
What really stood out from Northlands perspective was how they got burnt out on the edges time and time again. The back three of Leilua, Hyland and Macilai got turned around by some clever Harbour kicking and were made to look like they had concrete in their boots.
Leilua was caught out of position on several occasions and the wingers were forced infield a lot which created overlaps.
Up front the forwards competed well enough and held their own in the set piece. Was impressed with Hallam-Eames, he’s a monster and got through 80 mins.
A few of our replacements came on and made a difference, particularly Jordan Olsen, he was into everything.
A couple of our big loosies (apologies I don’t know their names, maybe Funaki and Manu) made good yards with the ball in hand too.
Will Grant at 9 is a gutsy little bugger and took some big contact. Was quite impressed with Kerikeris Corey Taylor when he came on, his service was very good. Could be a toss up to see who backs Nock up this year.
All up, hard to judge things on today, we’ve got heaps of firepower to come back so things could change.
One thing we need to work on is the back play. It’s crucial we get things right out in the back three especially as I can see that’s where we will be targeted.
I’m hoping to see a better showing with a stronger lineup against Auckland next week.
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@taniwharugby yep and not much has been addressed in this area by the looks.
I’d surprised if half our lineup today gets starting spots to be honest
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@tim said in NPC - news, injuries etc:
https://www.tab.co.nz/sports/competition/15658/rugby-union%2Fnew-zealand%2Fnew-zealand-npc/outrights
Grand Final Winner-New Zealand NPC Premiership 2021
Ta$man
4.00Auckland
4.50Canterbury
4.50Wellington
6.00Bay of Plenty
8.00Waikato
8.00Hawke's Bay
10.00I thought we'd at least be at $8 considering we knocked over two of the three Div 1 teams we played last year.
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@stargazer I find that a little strange, no way on gods earth were Hawkes Bay ever going to be ranked behind Northland ,Manawatu and Southland last year ,based on that alone that would have put them in the top 4..
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@nepia it’s about right , better to go in under the radar , magpies are the little fish in the big pond now ,not the other way round ..the surprise for me is given all the turmoil Auckland have had with coaches and players leaving is their $4.50 price tag and given that BOP seem to have a stronger squad than last year , I am surprised they are at $8
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Northland with a couple of injuries after yesterday’s game ..already looking for a 3rd halfback with Wil Grant taking a knock and Corey Taylor who replaced Grant looking likely to be out for the rest of the season , bad luck for Taylor who apparently looked very good
possible replacements within the union were both hampered with injures, Jordon Kemp recovering from surgery and ilai Arona has injury at the minute so I suspect Northland will go outside the union .My options would be to see if Sonatane Takalua can be released for a few weeks , I know there’s some stuff going on behind the scenes..
Other option for me is to look at an experienced 9 , and a player that fits the bill and plays for Papatoetoe in Auckland and was outstanding for Samoa against the NZ Maori in the 2nd test is Auvasa Falealii , highly experienced would be a perfect foil for Sam Nock .However there is some really awesome news for Taniwha fans ..Sam Caird will be joining the Taniwha from next week but will not be joining the squad until the Wellington game having to go through MIQ for a couple of weeks ..
The other good bit of news was the genuine power and ball carrying ability of Tavita Kautafa, very physical player who could turn into a Jackson Hemapo type player and really a surprising turnout in the number 7 jersey from Rob Rush who got several turnovers at breakdown..could be a chip off the ole block .. -
Also heard that the signing of both Jack Debreczini and Waisake Naholo is attributed to an arrangement that Canterbury have with the Red Hino Dolphins in Japan which probably means we are unlikely to see him in a Crusaders jersey .
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@steven-harris jeez, Takalua would be a big one, would really put the heat on Nock!!
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@canes4life Look under "All Blacks"
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@stargazer just deleted my comment after seeing that haha.
