Crusaders 2022
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Would be hugely disappointing for the Canterbury All Stars to pick up a lad like CLW. While he didn't make the original squad, injuries curtailed his season. Whenever he was available he was picked. Initial injury was in the pre-season and then another in the game he started. Otago and the Highlanders failed this exceptionally talented player by not identifying him early. But it will be a hell of a shame to lose him.
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@Canes4life said in Crusaders 2022:
@mikey07 is it Lio-Willie? That’s the only other player with a hyphened name in the current crop of Highlanders loose forwards.
It's about time Crusaders signed an explosive islander loose-forward. They have too many white, slow and workmanlike loosies who all have very similar attributes. Not saying there's anything wrong specifically with the existing group, however you need a bit of variety and point of difference in your squad make up & athlete characteristics, and Lio-Willie would certainly offer that much needed point of difference for the Crusaders.
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@FakatavaFuture said in Crusaders 2022:
@kiwi_expat yeah c'mon Razor give Christian Lio-Willie & Charles Alaimalo a look! wish McLeod & punivai well in their future endeavors and Poach Gideon Wrampling from the chiefs & Levi Aumua from Pasifika
i spoke CLW move into existence dammit
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@FakatavaAllBlack said in Crusaders 2022:
give the Landers Bridge for 2023? wishful thinking, it's just that his days as a starter for the crusaders are clearly over
George looks like he's lost a couple of yards of pace. Going somewhere where he could specialize at fullback probably his best plan.
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So - anyone got news on the availability or Taylor, Whitelock and/or Matera for Saturday?
When you consider that our best starting pack at the beginning of the season was probably Moody, Taylor, Jager, Barrett, Whitelock, Matera, Blackadder, Grace - we didn't have many of those guys involved in last week's 2nd half.
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@Chris-B said in Crusaders 2022:
So - anyone got news on the availability or Taylor, Whitelock and/or Matera for Saturday?
When you consider that our best starting pack at the beginning of the season was probably Moody, Taylor, Jager, Barrett, Whitelock, Matera, Blackadder, Grace - we didn't have many of those guys involved in last week's 2nd half.
Was it confirmed Taylor was injured on the weekend? If not, gutsy move to sub him at half time.
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@Crazy-Horse said in Crusaders 2022:
@Chris-B said in Crusaders 2022:
So - anyone got news on the availability or Taylor, Whitelock and/or Matera for Saturday?
When you consider that our best starting pack at the beginning of the season was probably Moody, Taylor, Jager, Barrett, Whitelock, Matera, Blackadder, Grace - we didn't have many of those guys involved in last week's 2nd half.
Was it confirmed Taylor was injured on the weekend? If not, gutsy move to sub him at half time.
Yeah Calf Strain.
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@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders 2022:
@Chris-B From memory I think citings are heard on Tuesday nights whilst the way Fozzie spoke yesterday I would suggest Whitelock will be available this week.
Don't they do that pre-judiciary thing first. You can accept what happens there or go to a hearing.
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@Crucial said in Crusaders 2022:
@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders 2022:
@Chris-B From memory I think citings are heard on Tuesday nights whilst the way Fozzie spoke yesterday I would suggest Whitelock will be available this week.
Don't they do that pre-judiciary thing first. You can accept what happens there or go to a hearing.
Yeah the communication isn't great.
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@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders 2022:
@Crucial said in Crusaders 2022:
@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders 2022:
@Chris-B From memory I think citings are heard on Tuesday nights whilst the way Fozzie spoke yesterday I would suggest Whitelock will be available this week.
Don't they do that pre-judiciary thing first. You can accept what happens there or go to a hearing.
Yeah the communication isn't great.
He got a red, automatic judiciary, there was never a question. Doesn't matter how you got the red.
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This is what was in the paper the other day.
Sanzaar will ask Matera to appear before a Sanzaar Foul Play Review Committee for a breach of Judicial Rule 6.2, because he has received three yellow cards in the tournament.
Matera will hope to escape with a caution. If he doesn't accept the sanction handed down by the committee, a judicial hearing is likely to be Tuesday night.
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Probably best Matera gets suspended as the Crusaders will most likely play with 1 less for a period of time if he does play.
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We’ve been underdogs all season, but championship pedigree did rise to the top when it mattered.
If someone told me at the start of the season that we would make the final at Eden Park to play a highly touted and much improved Blues squad, I would’ve taken that every day of the week.
There were many question marks before the first whistle - Moody and Taylor coming off subpar international seasons and looked to be on the wane, a crop of young props still getting their feet wet, an ageing Sam Whitelock, an unsettled back row with a really good player in Blackadder that has played a bit of 6 and 7, questions over Richie’s temperament under pressure, a midfield meh, and two class back 3 players but not knowing who should fill that other spot - Ennor, Bridge or Fainga’anuku.
There was also a serious case of “who’s next” in some key positions like fullback, 1st 5 and lock.
In my opinion, things started to click a few weeks ago when Razor figured out our best starting backline with the return of Goodhue - Hall, Mo’unga, Fainga’anuku, Havili, Goodhue, Reece, Jordan.
He would take a punt on no specialist 1st 5 on the bench and have the two AB 3/4’s in Ennor and Bridge, plus Drummond.
It might seem strange that I’ve focused on that as a turning point, when for years the Saders play has been focused on forward play creating the momentum either through turnover ball at the ruck or set piece, but from my armchair this simple thing appeared to give the team a shot of confidence and built a sense of trust. Our backline up until that point had been hit and miss with some individual brilliance but not a lot of cohesion on both sides of the ball.
The final two weeks demonstrated this cohesion particularly on the defensive side of the ball. So hats off to Tamati Ellison for his work with the backs.
As a fan this finals victory does feel pretty satisfying. We beat our bogey team last weekend and then backed it up at fortress Eden Park in front of a massive crowd (great stuff Auckland for showing out) to get the choccies.
So to Razor and the crew, congratulations. You timed the run to the finals beautifully. We played two very different games but did so effectively.
According to ACT Crusader:
Best forward: Ethan Blackadder
Best back: Will Jordan
Most improved: George Bower & Sevu Reece
Upcomer of the year: Tamaiti Williams
Surprise of the year: Fletcher Newell & Gallagher
Player of the year: Will Jordan
