Northland Rugby 2022
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@Duluth yeah he is playing for Waipu, the games I saw he goes pretty well, more an all round player, strong defender, carries, good lineout.
Waipu have also made the final this weekend, I think they were near the bottom of the table last year too, although had a horrid injury count.
Def think he will be an option to start.
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@Duluth Kauika Peterson went very well for Waipu , dynamic around the paddock , also throws very good darts ,have also heard that those final 2 propping spots could go to Coree Te Whata Colley who the Chiefs were very interstest in last year but opted out being a non vaxer ,will come down to a fitness test .
The most interesting news i have heard is a possible return for Kalolo Tuiloma to Northland who has got himself in great condition and had standout season for New York in the MLR and there has been an expression of interest from the Blues which is a bit of surprise for me unless he can play loosehead ..
Thought Moana Pasikika would be a better fit personally -
@taniwharugby at McDonalds somewhere in Wellington me thinks .
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Waipu team named for final tomorrow, been raining last few days, but suppose to be fine tomorrow.
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Strong MN side named
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very warm winters day up here, perfect conditions for rugby.
Mid Northern were dead last in 2019, and saved from playing the promo-relegation game due to Mid Western being unable to field a full strength team due to injuries, then losing finalist in 2020 (losing to Waipu) and 2021 (losing to the Sharks) all signs point to them going one better in 2022, much stronger on paper and hitting great form in the past few weeks.
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As expected, Mid Northern were far too strong for Waipu taking the lollies 53-19.
It was a totally dominant performance from the men from Hukerenui, scoring inside the opening minute, and were up 17-0 inside 12 mins.
Star of the show was mid-fielder Kalani Going who scored 4 or might have been 5 tries today, showing pace, power, nice change of pace.
The MN pack was much too strong for Waipu, who tried hard, but MN pushed them off their own ball at scrum time and set the platform for MN to run riot.
Jonah Mau'u the Waipu skipper was the best in a losing side, his brother Deon Mau'u in the mid-field is a big lad, showed some good touches and raw power, Bruce Kauika-Peterson had a good battle with Jordan Olsen (who was playing 6) with them both determined to hit the other hard anytime the other came near.
Valance Yates the MN hooker shows some good promise, I was pleased to see Alan Craig showing some physicality, also showed a nice turn of pace and put through what I thought was a poor option of a kick inside the 22 off his own break, that Kalani Going ended up scoring off.
The MN front row of Davies & Apoua got through some work, as did the Waipu Prop, Mahue Dewes, who while he looks like he is carrying 20kg too much, worked hard all game, even had a 30m carry late in the game.
All in all, Mid Northern deserved winners, built nicely as the seaosn wore on, despite a couple of hiccups earlier in the season and thier last 3 games they scored over 40 points which were against 2nd place, semi final and then the final.
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2nd slide shows Kalani Goings 4 tries.
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@taniwharugby said in Northland Rugby 2022:
As expected, Mid Northern were far too strong for Waipu taking the lollies 53-19.
It was a totally dominant performance from the men from Hukerenui, scoring inside the opening minute, and were up 17-0 inside 12 mins.
Star of the show was mid-fielder Kalani Going who scored 4 or might have been 5 tries today, showing pace, power, nice change of pace.
The MN pack was much too strong for Waipu, who tried hard, but MN pushed them off their own ball at scrum time and set the platform for MN to run riot.
Jonah Mau'u the Waipu skipper was the best in a losing side, his brother Deon Mau'u in the mid-field is a big lad, showed some good touches and raw power, Bruce Kauika-Peterson had a good battle with Jordan Olsen (who was playing 6) with them both determined to hit the other hard anytime the other came near.
Valance Yates the MN hooker shows some good promise, I was pleased to see Alan Craig showing some physicality, also showed a nice turn of pace and put through what I thought was a poor option of a kick inside the 22 off his own break, that Kalani Going ended up scoring off.
The MN front row of Davies & Apoua got through some work, as did the Waipu Prop, Mahue Dewes, who while he looks like he is carrying 20kg too much, worked hard all game, even had a 30m carry late in the game.
All in all, Mid Northern deserved winners, built nicely as the seaosn wore on, despite a couple of hiccups earlier in the season and thier last 3 games they scored over 40 points which were against 2nd place, semi final and then the final.
As long as I can remember Mid Northern have been that team. What is it about teams that make them winners year after year?
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Unsurprisingly, Tom Robinson has been named Captain for the 2022 season.
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@taniwharugby said in Northland Rugby 2022:
Unsurprisingly, Tom Robinson has been named Captain for the 2022 season.
I hpoe that's a training shirt!
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@Machpants yeah there were 2 in the clip (other one is orange) I quite like the one that Matich is wearing, with blue at the top.
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Pretty good preseason side
Some good recruiting too Moorby, Milo-Harris, BKP. Plus the return of Moulds & Matich. Depth building in a few positions
The loss of Gregory is a positive too. He was responsible for so many errors last year
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@Duluth just heard Apoua broke his hand in the club final and is out for several weeks (looking at round 4) and they have bought in experienced Sila Puafisi, who is apparently in good nick, has played for Tonga & in France, so sounds a decent replacement at short notice...the other props form outside the region they were looking at, one was in MLR and the other was trying to play Northland off with NH, so assume he will turn out for NH.
Still Nock, Robinson & Josh Goodhue to come back too, assume Jack Goodhue will be with ABs, so unavailable for most of season.
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@Tim I expect @Steven-Harris will give an update at some point...reckoned it looked like one of the best pre season performances he has seen from Northland.
It's our year ππππ±π
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@taniwharugby said in Northland Rugby 2022:
@Tim I expect @Steven-Harris will give an update at some point...reckoned it looked like one of the best pre season performances he has seen from Northland.
It's our year ππππ±π
How could you say thatβ¦never say thatβ¦