Northland v Taranaki
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@Steven-Harris After the conversion you could hear the ref talking to the TMO. If that was about the try and a possible knock-on, it would be really good if we could hear their conversation. It looked like a knock-on, but if different camera angles showed it wasn't, it would be good to actually hear the TMO say that. Now, indeed, it just looks like bad officiating.
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@Stargazer said in Northland v Taranaki:
@Steven-Harris After the conversion you could hear the ref talking to the TMO. If that was about the try and a possible knock-on, it would be really good if we could hear their conversation. It looked like a knock-on, but if different camera angles showed it wasn't, it would be good to actually hear the TMO say that. Now, indeed, it just looks like bad officiating.
Should have reviewed at least
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@Stargazer said in Northland v Taranaki:
@kev It will have been reviewed while the conversion was being taken. They can still disallow a try after the conversion nowadays.
He slapped his hand on the ball. They can’t have looked at it?
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@KiwiMurph to be fair to Hawkins, the time the half took to pass it didn't help any, was so slow.
Gotta say that 1st 40 was one of the most lacklustre performances we have put out, flat and devoid of energy.
A few rough calls from the officials exaggerate our issues too.
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We had next to no punch in attack, was a case of shoveling it from side to side and making bugger all ground.
Aside from Jack Goodhue the rest of the backs looked one dimensional.. we need Moorby back asap to add some spark.
Defence improved slightly, however we got burnt on a few occasions out wide.
A couple of howlers from the ref flattered the score a little, but it went both ways as Brady Rush's slapdown should have been a penalty try IMO.
Can honestly see this being a 0-10 season if we don't pull finger quickly. We look miles off the pace! Southland will be licking their lips heading in to this weekend. This fixture is now a must win, we need to go down there and get fired up, if we cant lift we can kiss goodbye to any aspirations we had of a top eight finish.
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@J77 I think the Taniwha flattered to deceive last year , the reality we pulled some wins out of the bag like pulling a rabbit out of a hat
In many of those games that were won the forwards stayed in the fight and a couple clutch kicks getting the team across the line
the season however tapered over how limited the attack was in fact the poorest in the comp , and once again it’s seems we are looking down the same path .
It would be easy to highlight the late changes in and around coaching , preparation and injuries but on saying that there is still a fair amount of experience in the backline .
Every year there’s plenty of expectation , silly me thinking having most of the squad was locked in early high fitness levels never seen in a Taniwha squad ,maybe a new dawn was on the horizon
The forwards have been reasonably solid in the first 2 outings but there are times the backs have looked like they met in the car park before the game , not just on attack but lack of a connection when transitioning in defence and the most simple aspect you get taught as a youngster, chase every kick but importantly as a backline stay connected.If I could say one thing to the coaches ,be brave nobody will condemn you for trying something different , if this season is to go south at least introduce some youngsters or even a bit of X factor into the team because at the minute it’s got a feel of selecting the fellas and expecting a different result .
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Yeah the forwards seem to be doing a good enough job that if our backs were capable, we'd be well in these matches.
As it was last night, you just knew if they got it wide they'd expose our lack of pace.
Murray is a classy player, but not really quick enough on the wing, and Rush looks to have lost a yard of pace, possibly due to bulking up a bit, he had a bit of a shocker last night after looking good in the opening game.
I think the mid-field as it was is the better way, although I do question some of our tactics where Goodhue ran hard at the line and then popped off to Tua just before contact, but I guess they rate his cleanup work better than Tuas?
While I have come round to Hawkins in the last year or so as a squaddie, he is never gonna win us games (other than clutch kicks) with the way he plays, he is set too deep, lacks pace to threaten the line, and as it was, he was most often lined up at FB last night. That poor clearance after that mammoth defensive effort, following that super slow clearance by Hape was made worse by the fact those 2 played together most of the club season at HH (well when Hape wasnt injured) so there was zero reason for them to not know what was going on.
I thought Milo-Harris was pretty solid last night, some great kicks, and generally tidy (missed an easy tackle in the 1st half, but so did many others who would normally make them 9 times out of 10)
Our maul defence is probably a highlight so far and for the most part, our line defence has been pretty good, just a shame once we force a trunover or get out of jail somehow, we cannot do anything with it.
In years gone by I'd back us to have something in the tank to go 90m, right now, I dont think we have that in us.
Is such a shame 2 of our super rugby players, have come out of super rugby so out of shape as well, have to question what their trainers are doing to monitor them through the season.
Our kick chase is awful, well it isnt awful, it is largely non-existent which is the problem, there was that odd one where Olsen was charging ahead, lone rangering it, only to kinda give in early, which isnt like him.
Ref was not great and didnt help our cause, that knock for Boshier's 1st try was poor, we saw it live as it was right in front of us, and oddly the replay from the rear angle showing it clearly, wasnt played until after they were walking back for the restart (in fact were a couple of other instances where they didnt replay what was a potential error when they would normally) but as @J77 above says, that try was evened out by Rush's YC not also being a PT, they had overlaps and space, if he hadnt touched it, it was a try in the corner.
Oh well, onto Southland now, before we get our next home game, Ta$man...
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@Steven-Harris have to agree Steven.
Northland has in recent years toughened up. Our goal line D is pretty good - and most of that you have to say is the forwards - aside from lineout they are competitive and aggressive in contact. But if we have to defend that much every game our team will be broken by mid-season.
Our backline attack and defence was awful. Jack Goodhue at 2nd was a success, but inside and outside him nothing happened. They need a huge rethink around running lines and deception, passing accuracy etc. Both Murray and Rush on the wing had games to forget - rushing up and throwing arms at tackles, being stepped easily, conceding huge metres on attack. Not sure either has the speed for the wing but Murray at least is a good footballer. Rush was just so mistake ridden in everything he did it’s hard to judge his future.
Per Steven’s point we had the same issues on attack last year but have not resolved them. Selecting the same players who do the same things, and young players not improving is a big issue. We must have someone with some speed somewhere? Although to be fair you would have to Carl Lewis on steroids to work on the end of our backline.
Big issues for me:
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no speed in backline - not having Trainor, Moorby hasn’t helped but they are not wings so it seems our planning has missed a beat.
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after one phase we lose our structure and divert to one out efforts - losing our coach in offseason can’t have helped. We need to improve.
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starting the season with one practise game. Will we never learn? Why do we plan for failure?
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@kev you've nailed it with those points Kev. From the outside looking in its almost as if we are relying soley on crash balls to get line breaks..there is absolutely no imagination on attack. The good old Ken Laban second-man plays look laboured and slow. Passes are generally floaty and aimless which only increases pressure on the line the wider the ball goes. As mentioned if it wasn't for Jack Goodhue in the middle it would be a complete shambles.
I feel a bit for John Leslie to be fair. He's come in on a hiding to nothing with next to no preparation. Regardless of how the season goes for him I don't think the fingers should be pointed in that direction, as it was always going to be a massive ask for him. By all accounts he's a smart guy, and with more time I'm sure he can build a decent team and game plan.
This start is definitely on the players in my view, the majority of the team is back from last year so there should be an element of continuity there. Yes, preseason was less than ideal, but still...
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@J77 not to mention Leslie inherited the whole squad, and is taking advice on players to call in from the same guys that keep bringing the likes of Hohaia into the fold.
So yeah, I'll cut him plenty of slack.
Last year it was good to make the 1/4 final, but it seems so many seemed to see this as a major achievment or even exceeding expectations, but we need to be aiming higher, this year 1/4 should have been a bare minimum for goal setting, with the semi as the main goal (ie improving on previous seasons)
On paper, I'd have thought the 1/4 was achievable, when I saw the Cantab team named last week, I thought they were def beatable, but 4 days later we sit here with the possibility of yet another winless season very high.
It would seem to me there are people in roles in the union that have been there for a very long with little or no accountability for results or lack of development.
Sure the HP programme we have seems to be getting things on track, but it only works if you utilise the players at your disposal, too often it seems we make selections or decision to try to simply avoid coming last, that we forget we need to aim higher, and then we often end up doing what we think we are avoiding by taking the middle lane.
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@taniwharugby said in Northland v Taranaki:
Sure the HP programme we have seems to be getting things on track, but it only works if you utilise the players at your disposal, too often it seems we make selections or decision to try to simply avoid coming last, that we forget we need to aim higher, and then we often end up doing what we think we are avoiding by taking the middle lane
What's the quality of the backs in club rugby? Do the current squad members stand out against the club players?
