Chiefs 2022

[Bovidae]

@yeetyaah

@steven-harris said in Northland 2021 review:

Sam McNamara and Liam Hallam Eames have picked up wider trading training squad contracts with the Chiefs

[Yeetyaah]

Couple of screenshots from a Chiefs Tiktok vid. Mitch Jacobson and Tom Florence. Unsure who the big lad with the cornrows is.

[Bovidae]

@yeetyaah said in Chiefs 2022:

Unsure who the big lad with the cornrows is.

Apisai?

Mason looks to have grown some more.

[Yeetyaah]

@bovidae

You're right it is him, this is from Apisai's Instagram story.

[Yeetyaah]

Lmao missed this somehow

[Yeetyaah]

Rob Cobb and George Dyer also feature in that clip with Apisai.

[Bovidae]

@yeetyaah That looks like Dyer packing down in the scrum.

[Bovidae]

The most recent photos show a couple of other players are training at the moment.

[Yeetyaah]

Nikora Broughton confirmed in the top pic.

Veveni Lasaqa is also with the Chiefs, second pic was on their Instagram story.

[Bovidae]

@yeetyaah Who do you think the player with the dreads is that is packing on the side of the scrum is? I suppose it could be Ah Kuoi if someone else is at lock.

The guy standing next to Moli looks like Solomone Tuku’afu. There must be a huge contingent of extras there.

[Higgins]

@bovidae Their wage bill must be getting up if they have almost as many injury replacements training as they do contracted players. Incidentally who fronts the costs of bringing in all the extras

[Bovidae]

@higgins

I think each franchise has to pay the salaries for the WTG but NZR may contribute to the wage bill in the preseason as the absence of the ABs is not of the SR team's doing. The Chiefs have 10 ABs missing. I'm not sure on the injuries of other squad members.

Some of the players are U20 so probably only there for experience, and will likely continue to train with the main squad.

[Bovidae]

From training today.

[Bovidae]

https://www.chiefs.co.nz/news-item/national-development-and-replacement-players-join-gallagher-chiefs-for-pre-season-training

Replacement Players:
George Dyer (Waikato)
Hamilton Burr (Waikato)
Hamish Dalzell (Auckland)
Jared Profit (Taranaki)
Lalomilo Lalomilo (Bay of Plenty)
Leni Apisai (Auckland)
Liam Coombes-Fabling (Waikato)
Liam Hallam Eames (Northland)
Logan Crowley (Taranaki)
Mitchell Jacobson (Waikato)
Rob Cobb (Waikato)
Sam McNamara (Northland)
Solomone Tukuafu (Waikato)
Taniela Filimone (Manawatu)
Tom Florence (Taranaki)

National Development Players:
Adam Lennox (Taranaki) - halfback
Josh Bartlett (Bay of Plenty) - LH prop
Mason Tupaea (Waikato) - LH prop
Nikora Broughten (Bay of Plenty) - loose forward
Veveni Lasaqa (Bay of Plenty) - openside

[OleOleOle]

@bovidae this doesn;t identify the WTG players, unless i'm mistaken. I assume they are part of the Replacement Player group. I had heard that Jacobsen and Burr had picked up WTG contracts.

[Bovidae]

@oleoleole said in Chiefs 2022:

@bovidae this doesn;t identify the WTG players, unless i'm mistaken. I assume they are part of the Replacement Player group.

I would think so, and will depend on how many in each position they want to cover. Dalzell is a surprise amongst that list, as well as no CM players.

I had heard that Jacobsen and Burr had picked up WTG contracts.

Well deserved for Mitch.

[ARHS]

@bovidae excellent. That is the sort of info I am wanting to hear.

[Bovidae]

@arhs I agree. All teams should be engaging with their fans and providing basic information about player availability, injuries etc.

The Chiefs website and SM channels have published a lot of photos from training, which has shown a number of these replacement players there. I see that Allan Bunting has also been at Ruakura and Gatland has been doing some hands-on work with the players.

[Yeetyaah]

Alex from The Legend of Marty Banks Facebook page is running social media for the Chiefs this year. Had a wee yarn with him over Instagram DMs and asked him to run the Waikato socials as well.

[Bovidae]

A little more information in this article about the coaching setup.

Neil Barnes' departure had seen McMillan take on the lineout coaching. David Hill's defensive brief will increase, and Gatland will work alongside Hill to provide some guidance. Former Black Ferns Sevens coach Allan Bunting will also be involved in skills coaching with the group alongside his coaching of the Chiefs' Manawa team in the women's competition.

It doesn't say who is in charge of the forwards, and whether Nick White has increased responsibilities.

Chiefs shaping up well for 2022 season - McMillan

For a team that has suffered more on the injury front than most, the Chiefs look set to start the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific competition in better shape than for some years.