Hurricanes 2024
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Hurricanes year in review.
Grade: B+
At the beginning of the year, I had the Canes as a top four side but wasn't sure if we would have the metal or the experience to quite go all the way, my assumption proved right but the disappointment of actually not making the final and pushing for the title was a lot greater than I expected.To top the table at the end of the regular season displayed the massive improvement this franchise has taken since Holland thankfully left at the end of 2023. Laidlaw has come in and created a culture that every single player has brought into and that will pay dividends over the next couple of years.
The reality going forward with the players we've signed up is that we should be pushing for that title for at least the next 3-4 years.
There are a few areas we need to shore up in the recruitment space and I have highlighted them below.
Best player: Cam Roigard, yes he only played 5 rounds but he was arguably the best player in the competition before he suffered that brutal injury against the Landers. If he can get anywhere close to the form he showed next year then the Canes will be a far tougher proposition. His decision making at the base of the ruck was second to none and many rugby fans around New Zealand will be hoping he makes a full recovery and can get back to his best for the ABs.
Best rookie: Peter Lakai
I know this was his second super season but this year was the first where he actually played consistent minutes. His ball carrying and defensive ability, coupled with the fact he never shy's away from doing the hard yards as a 7 will put him right in the conversation come All Black selection. The fact this kid is only 21 and is already going toe to toe with the best makes you think he has a pretty high ceiling.Player of the year: Billy Proctor
He only experienced losing once this season, unfortunately that was to the Chiefs last night. Proctor is the glue to the Hurricanes backline and showed his consistency all the way through the campaign. His ability to read the game has gone up another level this year and he has also put himself right in the frame for national selection in a week's time.The good:
The Hurricanes did plenty of things well this year but what I really loved was our improvement at set piece. When Numia, Aumua and Lomax were together they formed a pretty formidable front row, unfortunately all of them received big injuries at various phases of the campaign so we didn't get to see their full potential. Hopefully in 2025 they stay fit and healthy.The bad:
Injuries and form. In my view the injuries to key players like Roigard, Delany, Lomax, Numia and Aumua at crucial times in the campaign prevented us from reaching our full potential. The biggest thing will be keeping these guys fit next year so we have our best squad available come playoff time. Form was also a major factor to us bailing out of the competition. You could argue we played our best rugby at the start and through the middle of the campaign before teetering off towards the playoffs. A huge lesson for Laidlaw is that to win Super Rugby it's a marathon and not a sprint.Gains and losses for 2025 (so far)
Key losses for 2025: Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby
Key gains for 2025: Ardie SaveaRecruitment:
The Hurricanes have already locked down a large chunk of their squad for next year which will provide some consistency to help them push for title success. We know Ardie Savea is coming back and that will naturally lift expectations on this team to go all the way. Key recruitment areas for me are at hooker, first five and wing/fullback.-
Hooker: We need a strong hooker to back-up Aumua. O'Reilly was an improvement on previous seasons but his ceiling isn't the highest, Tuputupu showed glimpses of his potential but he has plenty of kinks to iron out, and there are a couple of other options in Jacob Devery and Vernon Bason to pick from within the environment. Whether we look outside for talent here is the big question.
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First five: Brett Cameron showed last night that he is just too limited to take this team all the way. The Hurricanes will be on the lookout for a quality ten before the next season commences. The Canes also have Harry Godfrey coming through, but he still has plenty to learn and prove before he gets continuous opportunity at this level.
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Wing/fullback: the Canes have a fair amount of recruitment to do in this space. Rayasi and Naholo are yet un-signed and it's already been announced that Moorby is jetting off the Montpellier. One obvious recruitment target will be Stanley Solomon, the jet shoes on this kid could be a point of difference for the Canes moving forward. They will want to lock him up on a contract but I don't think we'll see him on the park for at least year or two until he matures a bit more. Bailyn Sullivan is another player that's unsigned and he could be an option to fill that wing slot on the right.
Summary: overall, the Canes and Laidlaw can't be too displeased with their campaign this year. They've shown that when they play to their best they can blow anyone off the park. Next year will be all about kicking on from this year and taking their game to another level. There will be excitement aplenty in the Canes squad for 2025, let's see if they can convert that excitement and potential into a championship.
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@Canes4life Love your work and passion for your team. Their time will come. I wonder if Bailyn would be interested in playing with his brother if the Blues targeted him to cover Riko's sabbatical or to replace Heem if he retires next season?
Good to see IWL finally starting to look like the player that I saw at u20 level and thought might be the next big thing (only taken him 7 years). -
@Daffy-Jaffy I can't see Sullivan moving, the Canes have supported him through two major injuries so I think he'll want to repay the favour and have a big season in 2025. You never know though, recruitment can be a funny thing at times.
Yeah quite a few players took strides this year in their play. A bit like the Blues this year though, it will be all about harnessing their experience from this year and taking that into next year to be a more well-rounded team.
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@Canes4life I hope Baylin stays. I think the Blues will secure Xavi Taele first and they have others like Leo Gordan, Tito-Harris and King Maxwell to promote to fill backline gaps. Soloman would be the first young player that I would secure for the Canes. I not sure that the Blues will keep Cashmore, so he could be a fit for the Canes. With plenty of 10 cover due to Barret returning the Blues may want to use Cashmore's spot for an extra midfield player?
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Daffy-Jaffy I can't see Sullivan moving, the Canes have supported him through two major injuries so I think he'll want to repay the favour and have a big season in 2025. You never know though, recruitment can be a funny thing at times.
Yeah quite a few players took strides this year in their play. A bit like the Blues this year though, it will be all about harnessing their experience from this year and taking that into next year to be a more well-rounded team.
Sullivan is very average. Team needs to move on from him.
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@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.He is not really proven at 10. Even at NPC level.
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@chchfanatic said in Hurricanes 2024:
Do the hurricanes still play off for 3rd and 4th. Just asking for a friend.
I don't think so. But they have a greater probability of playing in the 3rd place game than the Crusaders...
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@Winger said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.He is not really proven at 10. Even at NPC level.
If he played more there he’d definitely be a better option than Cameron. We need to start giving Godfrey time in the 10 jersey though. He’s got a higher ceiling than Cameron aswell.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Winger said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.He is not really proven at 10. Even at NPC level.
If he played more there he’d definitely be a better option than Cameron. We need to start giving Godfrey time in the 10 jersey though. He’s got a higher ceiling than Cameron aswell.
Agree. But I'd prefer both to see some game time in the NPC at 1st. But maybe unlikely if Love makes the ABs as a FB
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@Winger said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Winger said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.He is not really proven at 10. Even at NPC level.
If he played more there he’d definitely be a better option than Cameron. We need to start giving Godfrey time in the 10 jersey though. He’s got a higher ceiling than Cameron aswell.
Agree. But I'd prefer both to see some game time in the NPC at 1st. But maybe unlikely if Love makes the ABs as a FB
Yeah Godfrey definitely needs to play 10 in the NPC. Love will likely be in the ABs but who knows after last night.
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Our forward pack almost picks itself next year with Iose almost guaranteed to move out for Savea and become that impact player off the bench. The big question marks will be in the backs. Will Higgins be the guy to replace Barrett, who will start on the wings? Etc
Based on the players we’ve signed/likely will sign I think we’ll kick off the year with the below 23. Pretty strong already even without new signings announced.
- Numia
- Aumua
- Lomax
- Delany
- Walker-Leawere
- Flanders
- Lakai
- Savea (c)
- Roigard
- Cameron (could be someone else)
- Rayasi
- Higgins
- Proctor
- Naholo
- Love
- Tuputupu
- Rakete-Stones
- Tosi
- Sangster
- Iose
- Perenara
- Godfrey
- Sullivan
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@Canes4life Even though Solomon has been playing on the wing at U20 level he is really a 1st 5/fullback. Quick and elusive but not very big.
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@Bovidae said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Canes4life Even though Solomon has been playing on the wing at U20 level he is really a 1st 5/fullback. Quick and elusive but not very big.
Yeah I think his position (if he makes Super) will be a wing. He’s definitely small but if he can put on a bit of size he could be good enough for that level. Definitely has enough pace and he has a solid kicking game.
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@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.Worst thing was losing Roigard. He seemed to compensate for Cameron's weaknesses
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@canefan said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Frank said in Hurricanes 2024:
I wonder if Ruben Love had chosen 10 rather than 15 that things might have worked out a little better for the Canes.
10 is a more important position than 15 in the overall context of the game.Worst thing was losing Roigard. He seemed to compensate for Cameron's weaknesses
100% he made all the key decisions, whereas Perenara is too erratic to compensate for Cameron’s flaws.
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@Machpants I don't think the Canes will care too much what Bidwell has to say. One of the worst NZ rugby journos going around. They'll do their review of this season and I'm sure there will be plenty of work ons but with Roigard back next year and Savea coming back in, along with likely having a few more newly announced ABs, expectations on this side will be a lot higher than they were at the beginning of this year where they weren't really considered title contenders so to speak.
The Canes shat the bed in that first 6 minutes of the game on Saturday, 6 minutes of rugby killed off their season but they were well off their stride before that. The week before, and the game against MP just showed we just weren't functioning at our best at the right end of the season.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2024:
@Machpants I don't think the Canes will care too much what Bidwell has to say. One of the worst NZ rugby journos going around. They'll do their review of this season and I'm sure there will be plenty of work ons but with Roigard back next year and Savea coming back in, along with likely having a few more newly announced ABs, expectations on this side will be a lot higher than they were at the beginning of this year where they weren't really considered title contenders so to speak.
The Canes shat the bed in that first 6 minutes of the game on Saturday, 6 minutes of rugby killed off their season but they were well off their stride before that. The week before, and the game against MP just showed we just weren't functioning at our best at the right end of the season.
Sadly, though he's right. Laidlaw started off so well and then the coaches started f++king up
It wasn't just this game either. Poor selections before this game (Moorby, Iose both lost form big time, dropping Flanders etc etc) and a stupid game plan for this game. And a team in the wrong head space.
Laidlaw needs to reevaluate his approach. Otherwise, it will be another Colin Cooper period. Good but not good enough to ever win it all.
I hope he can do it but it was so obvious what was going wrong and they also starting losing and didn't correct so I'm not too hopeful
