EOYT 2017
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Ardie Savea is an interesting case. It always looked to me like they were grooming him to be an impact loosie. Someone that could come on in the last 20 and do damage. They spent time getting him to be a dependable and accurate player as they needed that in case Cane was unavailable of injured early. Trouble is that, in that part of the role, he never reached the levels of Todd. He has also not manged to show much on the destruction front either. That's why Todd looks the better guy at the moment. They get a gain in the accuracy and no loss in the impact.
The attention has shifted IMO to a change in plan and Fifita is vying for being the impact loosie they are after. By having Squire in the 6 jersey they lose his ability from the bench to smash things up hard for 20 minutes. -
@crucial i reckon you see this sort of thing a bit. dagg bulked up and got stronger, with that (and injury possibly) - he lost some of the pace which was what made him special in the first place. he's adapted now though, and is still a fine player with his other assets.
savea has lost the impact he showed early on. there's a danger in forcing players into moulds created by other players. wanting someone to be the next mccaw, thinking that's how a 7 must play, and losing the unique things the new player had which was what got them selected.same reason i think they should pick a guy like aumua, and not try to change him too much. the best guys always redefine the role. if you need a bit more tight work to make up for what you lose there, then find it elsewhere in the balance of your pack, because what you gain in his ability to do things noone else can is worth it.
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@reprobate said in EOYT 2017:
@crucial i reckon you see this sort of thing a bit. dagg bulked up and got stronger, with that (and injury possibly) - he lost some of the pace which was what made him special in the first place. he's adapted now though, and is still a fine player with his other assets.
savea has lost the impact he showed early on. there's a danger in forcing players into moulds created by other players. wanting someone to be the next mccaw, thinking that's how a 7 must play, and losing the unique things the new player had which was what got them selected.same reason i think they should pick a guy like aumua, and not try to change him too much. the best guys always redefine the role. if you need a bit more tight work to make up for what you lose there, then find it elsewhere in the balance of your pack, because what you gain in his ability to do things noone else can is worth it.
Although, using Coles as a similar player to Aumua, I think you've got one example at least at how moulding a player can pay off. Coles was a loose hooker who was great running with ball in hand and was ok in the tight and set piece. However, he became a revelation after working with the AB honchos, so not saying it will work everytime but still a decent chance sometimes.
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@nepia yep for sure. i was a big critic of coles early on too, like a dirty hypocrite.
coles never lost his ability in the loose despite bulking up, whereas dagg changed as a player pretty much completely. so too kaino, and michael jones, to use a couple of examples you'll appreciate. i just think when you see a guy who has acceleration as a major asset, you want to be very careful about making them bigger.
those three guys adapted so well that what they gained made up for what they lost - though it took izzy a while.
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@reprobate said in EOYT 2017:
@nepia yep for sure. i was a big critic of coles early on too, like a dirty hypocrite.
coles never lost his ability in the loose despite bulking up, whereas dagg changed as a player pretty much completely. so too kaino, and michael jones, to use a couple of examples you'll appreciate. i just think when you see a guy who has acceleration as a major asset, you want to be very careful about making them bigger.
those three guys adapted so well that what they gained made up for what they lost - though it took izzy a while.
Kaino was quite quick at school and I think ran in 100m final with Joe Rock. Jones bulking may have had quite a lot to do with first (and second) knee injury. Bulk slows unless heavy leg work: most elite [loose] players instead focus on mileage to be able to keep going after 60.
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Kaino's loss of speed wasn't due to him putting on bulk. He was bloody quick when he played for the Blues and AB's in 2004. I remember one of his criticisms early on was that he was too loose..
But a leg injury meant that he lost his pace, and forced him to play a tighter game that made his name.. -
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Any word on the severity Hames’ head knock?
We don’t want to lose him and have to blood two newbies at LHP.At the post-match press conference, a journalist asked how Hames was and Hansen said that he failed the concussion test "but he is okay, he's pretty good". I assume they'll monitor him (as usual) during the week for late symptoms, but that sounds positive.
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Aumua, Duffie, Goodhue, Perry, JTA in.
Justsaid the newbies only found out as the team announced.
