North Harbour v Northland
-
@taniwharugby is Tua going? Midfield looks like a work on.
-
@taniwharugby pretty much agree with your sentiments, especially around developing our young guys. The likes of Woods and Anderson are must signs in my view. I think guys like Scutt and Jurlina might best be placed in the Dev XV for another season, Jurlina didn't quite step up to this level IMO, looked at sea v Manawatu. As much as I hate to say it, I think he would be better to play his club footy in the Northland premiership next season to further his game. North Zone rugby is probably not ideal for development, we have good individuals, but the the footy isnt a high standard. This is where Mangonui need to pull finger and get a Ninety Milers team back in the premiership like we had 20 years ago... anyway thats another story for the club thread maybe.
Would definitely be letting John Leslie bed himself in again as coach next season and beyond, he was on a hiding to nothing coming in late with virtually no pre-season this year. With a whole year to plan for next season I think he can only improve.
Alot of what happened yesterday can be fixed as I think it's more a mental thing at the base of it. Alot of casual mixed with a bit of cohesion isn't going to win games. Planning needs to start now to ensure we go to the next level instead of regressing like we seem to do after reasonably successful seasons. Consistency is all we want as avid supporters, and I'm sure the playing/management group do too..
-
@J77 although, tbf to Jurlina, who isn't really a tall loosie, wasn't the game v Manawatu his first start, and at lock?
Although defer to you on him as you seen more of him atnclub to know ossible ceiling
Def think Letoga is worth persevering with though, we haven't had a ball carrier like him for years.
-
@kev Tua was signed for 2 years late last year so next year is possibly his final year i thought he was solid enough without being spectacular for the Brumbies in super rugby this year but to be brutally honest i expected a lot more for a player who got plenty of game time at super level.
Hes been underwelming , its saying something when Blake Hohaia has been better than Tua .
Hoping Rene Ranger calls time , been a great servant but the sands of time have caught up , possibly should have been released last year .
With Goodhue heading offshore it leaves slim pickings in the midfield with only Tua as the lone midfielder
Cory Evans who comes off contract with Auckland at the end of the season has expressed interest to return home but that would still leave the Taniwha with only 2 midfielders with Heremaia Murray moving back to centre possibly 3I really dont want to return to the likes of Blake Hohaia ,
How the midfield plays out might come down to the make up of the wingers. -
@taniwharugby said in North Harbour v Northland:
@J77 although, tbf to Jurlina, who isn't really a tall loosie, wasn't the game v Manawatu his first start, and at lock?
Def think Letoga is worth persevering with though, we haven't had a ball carrier like him for years.
I think you have to see how players progress during a season. Jurlina is not a lock so unfair to have played him their. A player like Letoga needs fitness targets, but to your point we haven’t had a power player forever.
-
@Steven-Harris said in North Harbour v Northland:
@kev Tua was signed for 2 years late last year so next year is possibly his final year i thought he was solid enough without being spectacular for the Brumbies in super rugby this year but to be brutally honest i expected a lot more for a player who got plenty of game time at super level.
Hes been underwelming , its saying something when Blake Hohaia has been better than Tua .
Hoping Rene Ranger calls time , been a great servant but the sands of time have caught up , possibly should have been released last year .
With Goodhue heading offshore it leaves slim pickings in the midfield with only Tua as the lone midfielder
Cory Evans who comes off contract with Auckland at the end of the season has expressed interest to return home but that would still leave the Taniwha with only 2 midfielders with Heremaia Murray moving back to centre possibly 3I really dont want to return to the likes of Blake Hohaia ,
How the midfield plays out might come down to the make up of the wingers.Evans would be a great signing. I like Murray, could play anywhere but smallish for a centre?
Tua this year has been disappointing. But he is young and Leslie is a midfielder - hoping he can turn him around? Would we want Gregory back?
-
@kev Scott Gregory would be very unlikely to return to Northland , would’nt surprise me if he heads offshore
I dont see a passing skill set in Tua to be fair , and wether Leslie gets the role thats another question to be answered after the reviews -
@Steven-Harris said in North Harbour v Northland:
would’nt surprise me if he heads offshore
He is already signed with Zebre -
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/143ajr6/scott_gregory_joins_zebre_from_highlanders_for_2/
-
@taniwharugby said in North Harbour v Northland:
@J77 although, tbf to Jurlina, who isn't really a tall loosie, wasn't the game v Manawatu his first start, and at lock?
Although defer to you on him as you seen more of him atnclub to know ossible ceiling
Def think Letoga is worth persevering with though, we haven't had a ball carrier like him for years.
Yep that's right he was at lock. My bad. Still I think with a higher standard of club footy under his belt I think he may come on really well. He certainly stood out up here, but that's not hard to do.
Letoga is definitely one I'd like to see more of, just needs conditioning. He's a real metre maker that guy, if he's fit next year he'd be putting heat on guys like McNamara I'd say.
-
@J77 loosie is probably the one area we are served well currently, and even looking at the next line of players in club that were in and around the Dev squad and the age group ones, plenty to like there, plus the whispers of who I hear they are looking at too...
But we really need to be looking very hard at mid-field options (that dont include Blake) and probably a couple of tight forwards too.
