What is the best AB Midfield?
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@pakman - A bit concerned that Owen Franks will have lost his pace when he returns.Yes he may not score so many tries for the ABs from now on..
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@nostrildamus said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
@pakman - A bit concerned that Owen Franks will have lost his pace when he returns.Yes he may not score so many tries for the ABs from now on..
Was he even in contention for the midfield though?
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Reckon we should nab Nonu before we leave France and get him to do an intensive course with Laumape on timing and pinpoint passing skill of his.
The future midfield combo looks more and more like it is shaping to be Laumape/Goodhue.
I just don't really think SBW/Crotty offers too much by way of a threat - or even a cohesive (despite the French 1st half) midfield anymore. Our wingers deserve a midfield that poses questions of the opposition. -
@crash said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
Reckon we should nab Nonu before we leave France and get him to do an intensive course with Laumape on timing and pinpoint passing skill of his.
The future midfield combo looks more and more like it is shaping to be Laumape/Goodhue.
I just don't really think SBW/Crotty offers too much by way of a threat - or even a cohesive (despite the French 1st half) midfield anymore. Our wingers deserve a midfield that poses questions of the opposition.Yes, Nonu would be great for masterclass. The young Toulon Frenchies rave about him.
Saturday was first time for a while SBW/Crotty didn't have to handle rush defence. I noticed in first half that our backline passing looked good.
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The 12-13 slot seems to have been jinxed by injury for years now - Crotty, Ngatai & Kahui before them have been injury magnets. Hansen has struggled to develop combinations to replace Smith/Nonu since 2012-3.
ALB looks the goods to me but needs a solid midfield general as a partner until he matures a bit. Could be Crotty or Ngatai but certainly ain't SBW.
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@victor-meldrew said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
The 12-13 slot seems to have been jinxed by injury for years now - Crotty, Ngatai & Kahui before them have been injury magnets. Hansen has struggled to develop combinations to replace Smith/Nonu since 2012-3.
ALB looks the goods to me but needs a solid midfield general as a partner until he matures a bit. Could be Crotty or Ngatai but certainly ain't SBW.
How could we forget Ngatai
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@mn5 said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
s a bit. Co
Personally I want to see the following...
JordieB at 12, Goodhue at 13
the other backs being...
Rieko Ben Smith BeaudanB Richie Mo'unga -
@mn5 said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
@victor-meldrew said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
The 12-13 slot seems to have been jinxed by injury for years now - Crotty, Ngatai & Kahui before them have been injury magnets. Hansen has struggled to develop combinations to replace Smith/Nonu since 2012-3.
ALB looks the goods to me but needs a solid midfield general as a partner until he matures a bit. Could be Crotty or Ngatai but certainly ain't SBW.
How could we forget Ngatai
You are reaching Davidav and Toeava levels with this Ngatai stuff. Give it a rest.
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@pukunui said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
@mn5 said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
@victor-meldrew said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
The 12-13 slot seems to have been jinxed by injury for years now - Crotty, Ngatai & Kahui before them have been injury magnets. Hansen has struggled to develop combinations to replace Smith/Nonu since 2012-3.
ALB looks the goods to me but needs a solid midfield general as a partner until he matures a bit. Could be Crotty or Ngatai but certainly ain't SBW.
How could we forget Ngatai
You are reaching Davidav and Toeava levels with this Ngatai stuff. Give it a rest.
It's nice that people are paying attention though. I might win a fern award.
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@wairau said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
@mn5 said in What is the best AB Midfield?:
s a bit. Co
Personally I want to see the following...
JordieB at 12, Goodhue at 13
the other backs being...
Rieko Ben Smith BeaudanB Richie Mo'ungaIs this a piss take?
Beauden showed all that promise, took forever to mature enough to even start and since he's been running the backline it has dropped in performance.
But the promise of Jordy and Goodhue is all that is required to be the solution? In practice the odds are, like most ABs, that they don't live up to the hype. Jordy's defence is massively suspect, and Goodhue has only ever been seen in winning teams, where it is easy to look good when you are a centre.
I want to see a couple of seasons of them before they get near starting.
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@chester-draws woohoo, Northland is a winning team, finally!
He looked good and stood out as a player of his caliber should at M10 Cup level
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No, actually not. I'm thinking of the RWC. And Rieko went from no tests to being an amazing wing this year, so your negativity is too much.
I don't want BB at 10. I like him at 15, hitting gaps at full speed.
I want Mo at 10, more of a natural playmaker.
I want Ben Smith and Rieko as wings
That leaves 12/13
I concede they are new, but we need a better 13, smart defender and capable of putting outsides away more often.
12? Well, it's his favoured position. If you have a better suggestion, let's see it.Perhaps keep SBW as long as 10 and 13 are better able to play around him and the space he creates all the time.
And a better backline coach. -
My negativity is from seeing way too many "next big things" not pan out. ALB was awesome last year and you've already discarded him.
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Goodhue was also very good against a near full strength Lions team as well, one of the few Crusaders to come out of that match looking good. His class is undeniable IMO.
A few random thoughts...
Short term I'm comfortable with SBW-Crotty in the midfield, with Goodhue and Laumape getting time where possible. As I mentioned in the other thread I'd like to see SBW at first receiver more often with Beauden setting up a bit wider to utilise both players strengths (offloads / speed).
Jordie was all class at 15 and that should be where he stays IMO. I can see him developing into one of the best in the world there - he has all the required attributes (great boot, great under the high ball, good vision etc). I'd like to see Ben Smith back at 14 when both are in the squad.
ALB... had a great breakout season but will need to step up his game on recent times if he is going to compete for a starting spot.
Sopoaga and Mo'unga are a fair way off the required level at the moment. That could change, but right now I can't see them taking the 10 jumper. I think we just need to use Beauden more intelligently.
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I mostly agree with that. Watching the game again, I think that with ball in hand, Barrett was pretty good and is using SBW more effectively. I like the idea of using SBW at first receiver too.
On the other hand, right now our kicking game is where I'm most worried. I think Barrett has been really poor and doesn't seem to be developing a variety of options to use. It may be that we have a strategy to only put up contestable kicks, but many of those haven't been that contestable, and they are often not as appropriate as other options that could be taken. I look at the Chief's kicking game versus the All Blacks and I think that we're doing a poorer job than the Chiefs. That may be down to strategy (a few games where they've avoided kicking at all) but it's still something that I'd like to see us bring in to the game more appropriately in the next year.
By the way, I think that Goodhue is ready and will be given a chance in 2018. As much as I like Crotty (who I thought did well cleaning up a few messes around him on defense last week), he's been increasingly made of glass so when he gets injured I expect Goodhue will step in. The best news for me in this tour is that SBW finally looks at home at 2nd five. I still don't trust his instincts (see YC) but I'm not the coach, and he's been the one senior All Black who is probably playing as good as ever and seems to actually be developing new skills and ways to contribute. It's a bit off topic, but he's probably the only senior AB who's reputation is growing. Whitelock and (mostly) Cane are staying steady, while others are doing better than any replacements (see Smith, Read) but still not really close to the very best they've been.
