How many Crusaders in your AB 23?
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@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Reece is popular but I don't really rate him. I don't have him in my 23.
I really rate him. His workrate is strong, his work over the ball is superb (see the penalty he won last night), the first two steps are electric (see the SA game in 2019).
That said, he's light. If you carry him, you compromise - need to carry bigger players around. It's like the loosies all over again; if you pick Cane cos he's captain, you need a lineout option at 6 or 8 ... and if you want your best athlete in Ardie at 8, then yo uneed peak Jerome equivalent at 6, who can also kick goals, drive the bus, coach teh side, etc ... I jest, but the compromises start to bite when yo uneed a world beater or two at 6 (one to cover bench/injury).
Reece is the same for me, but slighly less so because of where he plays. Some really really good things, but some weaknesses too
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@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Is there any glee? I hadn't noticed any.
But in any event a competition where the results are predictable makes for a boring watch.
The Crusaders losing occasionally is no bad thing.
More frustration IMO, as the players struggling have been struggling in the ABs as well.
One person’s reputation that improved yesterday was Richie Mounga. He’s been papering over some pretty large cracks by the looks of things.
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@Kirwan said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@sparky said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Kirwan He can't tackle though.
Not disagreeing, just pointing out that the Crusaders rely on him doing something special to cover their talent/depth issues
And they have for a while. Go back to the blues game two years ago, he single handedly won it for them.
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@Kirwan Richie Mo'unga is an absolute talisman for the Crusaders. Time and again he's the guy they go to find holes in defences and to pull out big plays. When he plays well he seems to give enormous confidence to the Crusaders. He's one of the great Super players of all time.
Sadly this doesn't translate to top test level where defences are that more organised and the opposition ball carriers are mountainous and know how to target the first-receiver's channel. Super Rugby stud, Test Rugby dud.
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@Winger said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
I also dont get the glee some get in the saders losing, for me,
Its for the good of SRP. One team always winning and Aussie team always losing will almost kill it
It’s the tall poppy syndrome I guess.
I was just having a look at the ladder and was surprised to see the Crusaders are still top4 to be honest. Hard to see more than 5 players getting into a match day 23 at the moment- Whitelock, Blackadder, Moounga, Reece and Jordan. I originally had Moody and Taylor but injury and form look like ruling them out.
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@Nevorian said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Winger said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
I also dont get the glee some get in the saders losing, for me,
Its for the good of SRP. One team always winning and Aussie team always losing will almost kill it
It’s the tall poppy syndrome I guess.
I was just having a look at the ladder and was surprised to see the Crusaders are still top4 to be honest. Hard to see more than 5 players getting into a match day 23 at the moment- Whitelock, Blackadder, Moounga, Reece and Jordan. I originally had Moody and Taylor but injury and form look like ruling them out.
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
Blackadder is likely for the squad, but has stiff competition for the 23. A number of players at or above his level I reckon
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@nzzp said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
same applies for Retallick, which is a big concern.
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@nzzp said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Nevorian said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Winger said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
I also dont get the glee some get in the saders losing, for me,
Its for the good of SRP. One team always winning and Aussie team always losing will almost kill it
It’s the tall poppy syndrome I guess.
I was just having a look at the ladder and was surprised to see the Crusaders are still top4 to be honest. Hard to see more than 5 players getting into a match day 23 at the moment- Whitelock, Blackadder, Moounga, Reece and Jordan. I originally had Moody and Taylor but injury and form look like ruling them out.
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
Blackadder is likely for the squad, but has stiff competition for the 23. A number of players at or above his level I reckon
@nzzp said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Nevorian said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Winger said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
I also dont get the glee some get in the saders losing, for me,
Its for the good of SRP. One team always winning and Aussie team always losing will almost kill it
It’s the tall poppy syndrome I guess.
I was just having a look at the ladder and was surprised to see the Crusaders are still top4 to be honest. Hard to see more than 5 players getting into a match day 23 at the moment- Whitelock, Blackadder, Moounga, Reece and Jordan. I originally had Moody and Taylor but injury and form look like ruling them out.
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
Blackadder is likely for the squad, but has stiff competition for the 23. A number of players at or above his level I reckon
I would expect Blackadder to make a couple of the 23s this upcoming International season with rotation and the like
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@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@nzzp said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
same applies for Retallick, which is a big concern.
I think Whitelocks form is still up there and expect his workrate to increase in Black. Also Lock is one position where it is good to have the old bloke in the team.
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@Nevorian said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@taniwharugby said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@nzzp said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Whitelock is there on reputation and experience.
same applies for Retallick, which is a big concern.
I think Whitelocks form is still up there and expect his workrate to increase in Black. Also Lock is one position where it is good to have the old bloke in the team.
Also Whitelock has so far had a disrupted season he didn’t start SR until week 4.
Then has just come back from 4 weeks out with a broken finger .
He will get better the more he can string games together.
I wouldn’t want our AB’s peaking now it’s a long way to July,let alone August,September etc. -
@Kirwan said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Is there any glee? I hadn't noticed any.
But in any event a competition where the results are predictable makes for a boring watch.
The Crusaders losing occasionally is no bad thing.
One person’s reputation that improved yesterday was Richie Mounga. He’s been papering over some pretty large cracks by the looks of things.
The real problem for the Crusaders is that their forward pack is made up of players who are all fairly ordinary and lack any real point of difference (Jager, Grace, Bower, Klein, Christie, McAlister, Gardiner, etc..) in addition to experienced campaigners who are quite obviously past it & have lost their edge (Taylor, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett). this all without mentioning the long list of supremely average backs making up the remainder of their squad (Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Drummond, McLeod, Burke, TTT, Hickey, Punivai, etc..)
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@kiwi_expat said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Kirwan said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Is there any glee? I hadn't noticed any.
But in any event a competition where the results are predictable makes for a boring watch.
The Crusaders losing occasionally is no bad thing.
One person’s reputation that improved yesterday was Richie Mounga. He’s been papering over some pretty large cracks by the looks of things.
The real problem for the Crusaders is that their forward pack is made up of players who are all fairly ordinary and lack any real point of difference (Jager, Grace, Bower, Klein, Christie, McAlister, Gardiner, etc..) in addition to experienced campaigners who are quite obviously past it & have lost their edge (Taylor, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett). this all without mentioning the long list of supremely average backs making up the remainder of their squad (Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Drummond, McLeod, Burke, TTT, Hickey, Punivai, etc..)
And yet somehow, as if by magic, the Crusaders are not the last placed NZ team. Thank God for all the help they get from the refs.
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@Crazy-Horse said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@kiwi_expat said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Kirwan said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
Is there any glee? I hadn't noticed any.
But in any event a competition where the results are predictable makes for a boring watch.
The Crusaders losing occasionally is no bad thing.
One person’s reputation that improved yesterday was Richie Mounga. He’s been papering over some pretty large cracks by the looks of things.
The real problem for the Crusaders is that their forward pack is made up of players who are all fairly ordinary and lack any real point of difference (Jager, Grace, Bower, Klein, Christie, McAlister, Gardiner, etc..) in addition to experienced campaigners who are quite obviously past it & have lost their edge (Taylor, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett). this all without mentioning the long list of supremely average backs making up the remainder of their squad (Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Drummond, McLeod, Burke, TTT, Hickey, Punivai, etc..)
And yet somehow, as if by magic, the Crusaders are not the last placed NZ team. Thank God for all the help they get from the refs.
And by a minor miracle could still finish 2nd for the play offs.
Amazing considering we have no decent players. -
10 months later & I would only have one Crusader starting and that would be Scott Barrett.
McKenzie is a superior player to Mo'unga whether that be at 10 or 15.
Roigard, Ratima, Weber, Smith are the best 9's.
The best props are from Hurricanes/Chiefs/Highlanders, highest quality of everything else in the tight forwards are from Chiefs, loose forwards: Blues & Canes, midfielders: Chiefs, Canes, Blues.
The All Black's starting back three are currently all Blues players.
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@kiwi_expat said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:
10 months later & I would only have one Crusader starting and that would be Scott Barrett.
McKenzie is a superior player to Mo'unga whether that be at 10 or 15.
Yep the way D Mac missed touch from penalties kicked like a retard and dropped the ball 3 times cold in his last outing he sure looked it.
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@kiwi_expat I am of the belief that the NZ XV side which was coached by Leon Macdonald was close to what will be rolled out in the not too distant future. The Saders have started off fairly slow this year and the coach has experienced a few disruptions.
