Chiefs v Crusaders
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thoughts on Liam Coombes-Fabling? we obviously saw a bit of him down south and dont think he really impressed (me anyway), starting for a chiefs team tipped to do well, he looking good? highlander maybe just not right to get the best out of him?
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@Kiwiwomble said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
thoughts on Liam Coombes-Fabling?
No real other choice with Narawa unavailable at the moment, and Malimali a left winger. I've always said that LCF lacks size to be really effective at this level. But he's quick. A good chance for the back three to expose Aumua's concrete feet on defence.
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@Bovidae said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
A few surprises for me. No MSR, but Tupou on the bench. Jacobson is definitely the backup 7.
LCF is the safe option on the right wing.
Is it? He's a midget who seems a bit of a turnstile on defense.
I'd say Springer will be licking his lips and I'll bet Aumua is eyeing up our right hand edge as well.
Overall, I'm not very impressed by that team - some very good players surrounding by quite a few question marks. I'd choose the Crusaders forwards over ours by quite some margin.
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How the hell is Quentin MacDonald still running around in 2024???
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@African-Monkey said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
How the hell is Quentin MacDonald still running around in 2024???
Is this related to age (doesn't seem that old) or ability (extremely reliable player)?
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@Bovidae said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
A good chance for the back three to expose Aumua's concrete feet on defence.
@Chris said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
I reckon if I was McLeod and Amua I would be lining up Quinn Tupaea a turnstile right there.
You're both right
There's plenty of questions about both midfields defence.
QT has always been a really poor defender and missed plenty of simple ones in preseason.. even ALB was missing basic stuff in those games but I suspect he'll come right
McLeod was a terrible defender until last year but that was mostly on the wing. His lateral movement was really poor when in the midfield. Multiple NPC games missing 6,7,8 tackles. Will be interesting to see if he can cope with DMac sliding out towards him
I agree Aumua can get caught flat footed but his bigger issue is shooting up, getting stepped and leaving a huge space for others to cover
Whichever midfield tightens the defence up should have a big influence on the result. They both look quality with ball in hand
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A few comments from Penney & Perrin about the match
They both comment positively on Fihaki. Big match for him.. if he's untidy again I'm not sure they can give him time to settle. Springer would be a solid fullback
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It's certainly not a foregone conclusion, the Chiefs have also lost a lot of talent from least year (Cane, Retallick, Webber, PGS, Nawara injured) just off the top of my head and their pre-season form has been underwhelming.
I feel an awful great deal is going to come down on Dmac's shoulders as to whether he finds his spark on attack or not and if he doesn't it could be quite a long night for the Chiefs.
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Yeah the Chiefs were crap in preseason. DMac struggled too. That probably doesn't mean much
Tab has it Chiefs 1.47 vs Crusaders 2.8
I'd have the Crusaders a lot closer than that. The pack in particular still looks very good
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@Duluth said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
I'd have the Crusaders a lot closer than that. The pack in particular still looks very good
The poor old Crusaders get to replace two AB props with another two AB props, and have another not playing.
No way are the Chiefs heavy favourites. There are still questions over Boshier being the answer at 7, and they will have to collectively play much better than in the pre-season games.
There will be a good crowd based on pre-sales, assuming a decent number of walk-ups too.
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Yeah don't get why the Crusaders are outsiders. Sure, they don't have a number of their Backline from last season, but their forward pack is still good enough to keep this game in the balance, and the Chiefs have lost a bit of sting in their pack.
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@African-Monkey no Robertson, no Mo'unga, no Jordan, no Blackadder, no Taylor, no Havili, no Newell and the biggest loss of them all IMO is the Crusaders no longer have Sam Whitelock. When Whitelock and Mo'unga weren't playing the Crusaders went down a couple notches and I expect that to be the case this year until their young fellas find their feet. The Saders are always slow starters aswell.
The Chiefs to me are favourites because for the most part of last year they were the top team and despite losing Cane, Rettalick and Weber they just look to have a lot more experience across the park. Plus they've got that continuity with their coach, they've got an AB first five, and they are at home. I reckon the Chiefs will win this game comfortably with the Crusaders potentially biting back later in the year.
