QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay
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@foobaNZ I think Folau would close the game out from the bench, like he did in his previous outing. Folau is seriously better on defence compared to Enari, so it's frustrating he's not there. I'll be filthy if Wellington get even one of their ABs back, and we don't.
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Wellington Lions to take on Hawke’s Bay:
- Xavier Numia, Oriental-Rongotai
- Asafo Aumua, Avalon
- PJ Sheck, Tawa
- James Blackwell, Petone
- Dom Bird, Upper Hutt RAMS
- Caleb Delany, Old Boys University
- Du’Plessis Kirifi, Northern United (C)
- Peter Lakai, Petone
- TJ Perenara, Northern United
- Jackson Garden-Bachop, Northern United
- Pepesana Patafilo, Tawa
- Peter Umaga-Jensen, Wainuiomata
- Billy Proctor, Marist St Pats
- Julian Savea, Oriental-Rongotai
- Ruben Love, Wainuiomata
IMPACT
- Josh Southall, Petone
- Solomona Sakalia, Northern United
- Tietie Tuimauga, Marist St Pats
- Taine Plumtree, Old Boys University
- Keelan Whitman, Marist St Pats
- Richard Judd, Paremata-Plimmerton
- Aidan Morgan, Marist St Pats
- Connor Garden-Bachop, Northern United
Unavailable for Selection: Vince Sakaria, Connor Collins, Iona Apineru, Josh Toómaga, Siale Lauaki, Pekahou Cowan, Riley Higgins
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Lol what the fark are we doing. JGB controlled things nicely against CM but it doesn't mean he will do that against the better teams.
Absolutely dumb decision by the Lions coaches. Morgan deserves to lead this team through the playoffs on the back of some impressive form. What does that do to a players confidence? FFS.
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@Canes4life yea presumably they've been fooled by a good performance against CM. No disrespect to CM but any 10 would have had a field day in that game.
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@foobaNZ said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
@Canes4life yea presumably they've been fooled by a good performance against CM. No disrespect to CM but any 10 would have had a field day in that game.
I'm really disappointed in that coaching staff. The only losses we've had this year were when we had JGB at 10. Morgan is unbeaten as a starter this year. It's just a pathetic decision unless Morgan is carrying a slight niggle.
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@Stargazer said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
@foobaNZ It looks like they're counting on JGB's better boot. The Magpies sometimes give away a lot of penalties; JGB is more likely to slot penalty kicks at goal than Morgan.
Morgan goal kicking has been good this NPC esp in recent weeks (apart from a miss right in front)
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@foobaNZ said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
I can't believe JGB is starting.
Win shield with Morgan.
Defend shield with Morgan.And we start JGB? Who has countless examples of stupidity in big moments.
Sigh.
JGB played well last week. But just about every other game this year he's been poor. Resulting in him being dropped by the Canes. It's a big risk they are taking. I hope he plays well again and if he has another poor game the coaches get him off fairly quickly. Like at HT at the latest.
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@foobaNZ said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
Unavailable for Selection: Vince Sakaria, Connor Collins, Iona Apineru, Josh Toómaga, Siale Lauaki, Pekahou Cowan, Riley Higgins
Wonder what's happened to Riley. Cown was missed off this list last week so was hoping he would be available this week. I hope Sheck last for the finals but the replacement did ok last week.
O'Reilly is another who wouldn't be available.
Edit Covered in the Lions website. As well as reasons for selecting JGB
Jackson Garden-Bachop will start at first five-eighth with Aidan Morgan looking to provide impact off the bench.
“Jackson showed last week that he can really set our attack game alight and play the game in the right areas of the field, so he gets the start this week and we will look to him to control the game for us. Both him and Aidan have played well over the last month and are a big reason why we are having a home Quarter-Final,” said Crowley.
Garden-Bachop has kicked the most conversions of any kicker in the past three decades [since 1990] of top-flight NPC rugby. His fourth conversion against Counties Manukau last Sunday was his 182nd for Wellington, surpassing the 181 that former Poneke first-five David Holwell kicked in his combined career for Wellington and Northland.
With Riley Higgins unavailable for selection due to a knee injury, a fit Peter Umaga-Jensen returns to the midfield after injury had him ruled out for the past few weeks.
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@Winger said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
@foobaNZ said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
Unavailable for Selection: Vince Sakaria, Connor Collins, Iona Apineru, Josh Toómaga, Siale Lauaki, Pekahou Cowan, Riley Higgins
Wonder what's happened to Riley. Cown was missed off this list last week so was hoping he would be available this week. I hope Sheck last for the finals but the replacement did ok last week.
O'Reilly is another who wouldn't be available.
Edit Covered in the Canes website. As well as reasons for selecting JGB
Jackson Garden-Bachop will start at first five-eighth with Aidan Morgan looking to provide impact off the bench.
“Jackson showed last week that he can really set our attack game alight and play the game in the right areas of the field, so he gets the start this week and we will look to him to control the game for us. Both him and Aidan have played well over the last month and are a big reason why we are having a home Quarter-Final,” said Crowley.
Garden-Bachop has kicked the most conversions of any kicker in the past three decades [since 1990] of top-flight NPC rugby. His fourth conversion against Counties Manukau last Sunday was his 182nd for Wellington, surpassing the 181 that former Poneke first-five David Holwell kicked in his combined career for Wellington and Northland.
With Riley Higgins unavailable for selection due to a knee injury, a fit Peter Umaga-Jensen returns to the midfield after injury had him ruled out for the past few weeks.
Crowley is a muppet. So he thinks JGB playing well against CM is the same as Aiden Morgan performing against stronger teams like Waikato / Hawkes Bay when a Shield game is on the line. Talk about not rewarding Aiden for turning our season around.
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Crowley is a muppet. So he thinks JGB playing well against CM is the same as Aiden Morgan performing against stronger teams like Waikato / Hawkes Bay when a Shield game is on the line. Talk about not rewarding Aiden for turning our season around.
Yea it's crazy reasoning.
Thrashing CM is not the same thing
A career of mediocrity (at best) warrants selection over a short career of class (particularly at NPC level).
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@foobaNZ said in QF - Wellington vs Hawkes Bay:
Crowley is a muppet. So he thinks JGB playing well against CM is the same as Aiden Morgan performing against stronger teams like Waikato / Hawkes Bay when a Shield game is on the line. Talk about not rewarding Aiden for turning our season around.
Yea it's crazy reasoning.
Thrashing CM is not the same thing
A career of mediocrity (at best) warrants selection over a short career of class (particularly at NPC level).
Typical brain fade selections from Wellington coaches.