Depth at 10
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@duluth said in Depth at 10:
@frank said in Depth at 10:
Zarn Sullivan is the obvious guy to try.
Problems
-he won't get game time there because of BB playing for Auckland
-he is being used at fullback
-Fozzie is way too conservative to think outside the box and pick himI think this is getting a bit silly. Sullivan hasn't even had a single start as a ten at NPC level
He's unlikely to get a run at ten because he's been very good for the Blues at fullback. MacDoanld (a decent fullback himself), has raved about Sullivans natural lines from fullback. Maybe his best position is actually fullback?
Maybe he becomes a ten, maybe he doesn't. But the rating he is getting in thread based on almost no adult rugby in the position is over the top
definately
What i do hope however is some of the young guys look at this tour and think "i can do better than that" and set out to prove and and earn a shot at the AB's
I dont think many from the current squad deserve reputation/potential protection like we've seen for AB's of the past
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"Depth at 10"
This should be a short thread. -
@nostrildamus Mitchell Hunt had a more than descent Super Rugby Aoetearoa season and was a finalist as well as playing a key role in dismantling the Crusaders this year in the Highlandee's clinical win. Surprised he was not in the All Blacks setup this year.
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@sbw1 said in Depth at 10:
@nostrildamus Mitchell Hunt had a more than descent Super Rugby Aoetearoa season and was a finalist as well as playing a key role in dismantling the Crusaders this year in the Highlandee's clinical win. Surprised he was not in the All Blacks setup this year.
He is adequate at best. I see nothing that he brings to the table where he can say he is better than the incumbents. Like the other options, he is not a better passer, not a better kicker, not a better runner, not a better defender (well, may be a better defender than RM but my dead grandmother would give RM a run for his money there).
It is plainly obvious the ABs picked the two best 10s (three best is you count McKenzie).
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@crazy-horse said in Depth at 10:
@sbw1 said in Depth at 10:
@nostrildamus Mitchell Hunt had a more than descent Super Rugby Aoetearoa season and was a finalist as well as playing a key role in dismantling the Crusaders this year in the Highlandee's clinical win. Surprised he was not in the All Blacks setup this year.
He is adequate at best. I see nothing that he brings to the table where he can say he is better than the incumbents. Like the other options, he is not a better passer, not a better kicker, not a better runner, not a better defender (well, may be a better defender than RM but my dead grandmother would give RM a run for his money there).
It is plainly obvious the ABs picked the two best 10s (three best is you count McKenzie).
Maybe a better coach can get more out of them. A more simple direct gameplan for the forwards, that gets the backs on the front foot will be a good start
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@canefan said in Depth at 10:
@crazy-horse said in Depth at 10:
@sbw1 said in Depth at 10:
@nostrildamus Mitchell Hunt had a more than descent Super Rugby Aoetearoa season and was a finalist as well as playing a key role in dismantling the Crusaders this year in the Highlandee's clinical win. Surprised he was not in the All Blacks setup this year.
He is adequate at best. I see nothing that he brings to the table where he can say he is better than the incumbents. Like the other options, he is not a better passer, not a better kicker, not a better runner, not a better defender (well, may be a better defender than RM but my dead grandmother would give RM a run for his money there).
It is plainly obvious the ABs picked the two best 10s (three best is you count McKenzie).
Maybe a better coach can get more out of them. A more simple direct gameplan for the forwards, that gets the backs on the front foot will be a good start
I have said since day 1 that RM seems unsure of his role when playing for the ABs. I initially put that down to the back line not being his to run owing to BB being at fullback. Now, who knows? Simply not good enough or confused in his role by other factors?
BB has regressed too. My first thought was that he has lost a yard or two of pace and I always thought he would struggle when that happens. Is he confused too?
RM and BB remind me of a few players from both codes that struggle when laden with the role of being the steady playmaker. I am thinking Botica, Spencer, Cooper, Benji Marshall, Shaun Johnson to name just a few. Magnificent football players but they need a steadying player along side them to be free to play the way that makes them so good. They all seem to regress when expected to guide teams around the park.
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@Crazy-Horse I agree that we picked the best two 10s we have available.
I also strongly agree that the duel play maker idea was idiotic and fucked with both players form and confidence during a RWC. Another black mark against Hansen/Foster - Ben Smith should have been full back and RM should have been allowed to learn test footy from the bench. Throwing him into the 10 position in the biggest pressure cooker there is against teams that were going to come out and try to batter us into submission was just appalling coaching and selecting. They really set him up to fail and he's not looked comfortable against the big physical teams since.
It annoys me as RM had a really positive start to his AB career - I remember him coming off the bench against SA and carving up. He needed to stay there and find his feet before being chucked in the hot seat as it was clear his game suited the looser SR more than test footy (as you'd expect given that's all he'd played at that point).
It also annoys me as it fucked with Beauden's form after he was POTY 2 years running. What the fuck were they thinking shunting him to fullback to make way for an u proven rookie? Especially when we had one if the world's best full backs already? Just so dumb.
This year I think they had it right with Beauden starting again and RM off the bench. Beauden's injury came at the worst time when we were about to face the toughest tests of the year given they were at the very end of an insanely long tour. I know Beauden is not the kind of 10 that can take control of a game, but he has bucketloads of experience and can handle the physical exchanges much better, and that would allow RM to come on fresh against tiring defenses and do what he does best.
Outside of those 2 I wouldn't have a clue, though this thread has been informative. But for the next couple of years we need to try and make best use of what we have.
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I am somewhat surprised at the worries at 10 on TSF.
I'm not bothered at all. RM is a fantastic player and if we can get something close to parity up front & also a backline gameplan designed to make the best use out of him, then all will be fine.
In the last two games, we had neither.
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RM and BB are the dog's bollocks when they play in a well-coached team. End of thread.
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@crazy-horse said in Depth at 10:
@canefan said in Depth at 10:
@crazy-horse said in Depth at 10:
@sbw1 said in Depth at 10:
@nostrildamus Mitchell Hunt had a more than descent Super Rugby Aoetearoa season and was a finalist as well as playing a key role in dismantling the Crusaders this year in the Highlandee's clinical win. Surprised he was not in the All Blacks setup this year.
He is adequate at best. I see nothing that he brings to the table where he can say he is better than the incumbents. Like the other options, he is not a better passer, not a better kicker, not a better runner, not a better defender (well, may be a better defender than RM but my dead grandmother would give RM a run for his money there).
It is plainly obvious the ABs picked the two best 10s (three best is you count McKenzie).
Maybe a better coach can get more out of them. A more simple direct gameplan for the forwards, that gets the backs on the front foot will be a good start
I have said since day 1 that RM seems unsure of his role when playing for the ABs. I initially put that down to the back line not being his to run owing to BB being at fullback. Now, who knows? Simply not good enough or confused in his role by other factors?
BB has regressed too. My first thought was that he has lost a yard or two of pace and I always thought he would struggle when that happens. Is he confused too?
RM and BB remind me of a few players from both codes that struggle when laden with the role of being the steady playmaker. I am thinking Botica, Spencer, Cooper, Benji Marshall, Shaun Johnson to name just a few. Magnificent football players but they need a steadying player along side them to be free to play the way that makes them so good. They all seem to regress when expected to guide teams around the park.
I've been staying away from this thread because it kicked off with a discussion between you and me, but I haven't been able to put into words my concerns.
I think in those two sentences, you've summed them up, and it could quite possibly be the fault of the coaches in putting him in that position. But, as you say, it could be him.
Watching the game on the weekend, I quite honestly felt that we could have had an absolute novice out there and they would have been been about as equally good (bad) as Mo'unga played. I know that's unfair, but our best rugby happened when he touched the ball the least.
I would have expected it from a player like Love (the least experienced of the starting 1st fives in Super rugby) if the ABs had been stupid enough to have taken him on tour as the next 'young' thing.
But, it's four years into Mo'unga's international career and he has more than 30 games in the jersey. He is about 11 games behind Carlos Spencer in terms of experience (will overtake next year), and less than 20 behind Cruden (he'll surpass that before the next WC), but he looks like he still needs training wheels when he hits a situation when our forwards are not clearly on top. People are still talking about how he should come off the bench until he learns how to be successful even though he's had more than 30 tests!
He should be a leader in this team, but he is simply a reactor. He just does not drive our team around. He has never done so against top tier opposition, even when we've needed it, and each time he gets put in that situation at international level, he fails in his response.
Something is wrong because neither he nor Barrett (who I could write a similar post about) have become better players in the international arena for about 3-4 years.
I don't know who is the future, but I'm pretty sure it isn't Richie Mo'unga. I know some will doubt this, but I truly hope I'm wrong. If he drives us to a WC win, I'll be his biggest fan forever (in the same way that I adore Beaver, the only player I want to meet more than McCaw or Carter).
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So the depth chart, as I reckon Foz and Co see it:
1: Barrett
2: Mo'unga
3: Ioane (due to relatively recent experience within the setup)
4: Hunt? He's solid but unspectacular, but probably the best calm head of the rest.
5: Wide open atm. If it was a world cup year we did a 2011, I wonder whether they'd bring in someone like Marty
MckenzieBanks? Valuing experience and calm under pressure over unproven youth. Maybe Brett Cameron for similar reasons, although he's only really got experience.
It's not a world cup year tho, so hopefully by the time we get to '23 we've got one or two of the young bucks stepping up somewhat. Mckenzie will be back by then, and will slot in at 3 on the depth chart.
Possibilities:
Sullivan - already discussed at length on here
Perofeta - seems to be thriving at fullback though
McClutchie - two SR seasons by then should show us whether we want to see any more
Stu Cruden - still probably too early by then
Ruben Love - still young, also looks better at fullback
Kaleb Trask - I haven't seen enough to know - anyone?
Plummer - hasn't really looked like kicking on, although has had limited game time at super levelI'll have missed a few, but there is hope that at least one of the above will come good enough to force his way into the test set-up, although that obviously depends on the Foz crew noticing them, which isn't a given.
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Re Hunt
Self aware Highlanders bias, i put hunt in the same relm as players like ash dixon later in his career...if we had 2011 world cup issues again and our incumbent 10's/2's all pulled up injured i think they both would do a bloody solid job, i would go for those kinds of guys rather than someone younger and inexperienced...hell, marty banks would probably do the black jersey proud for a short stint....but if we're still taking long term then surely there is someone 20 or 21 we can look to grow and get a decade of stability out of
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@kiwiwomble dammit yes I meant banks, not Mckenzie
