Blues v Jaguares
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@kirwan Listened John Hart on radio sport this morning,one thing that he said which I said from the time this squad was announced in November 2017 it was easily the weakest of the 5 squads based on the limited amount of movement of the other four franchises.
Only the Chiefs with the loss of Aaron Cruden,James Lowes and Micheal Leitch were gonna be hit the hardest but is been a credit to them despite losing 6 x props and several others they have battled away manfully.
But at least despite the injures,they have retained senior players like Cane,Retallick,Messiam and Ngatai.To me that’s one of the fundamentals where the Blues have totally missed the boat in terms of their selections..once the leadership group got injured,Pulu,Kaino and SBW and I will also add Blake Gibson into that group the wheels have slowly fallen off.
Add in the injuries to what already not the strongest squad of the five,and this is what you get.Looking at the attrition rate in this competition,I believe it’s doubly important to select your squad with injuries in mind especially if your are thin on leadership and to me,this is one of the biggest failings of this coaching panel.
I asked the question of high performance manager Tony Hanks late last year when Stephen Luatua and Charlie Famauina left the Blues,was there a train of thought to chase 2 like for like players with experience,I even threw a couple names out there like a Blade Thomson or a Michell Graham..?;not totally sure about Graham,I think he maybe a loose head..
Hanks just said,you will be surprised with what we will dish up with squad..!,Really..!,even I could see they were thin if injuries occurred.So I guess...SHOULD WE REALLY BE THAT SURPRISED AT WHATS HAPPENING ...?,I for one am not.
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@steven-harris said in Blues v Jaguares:
@kirwan Listened John Hart on radio sport this morning,one thing that he said which I said from the time this squad was announced in November 2017 it was easily the weakest of the 5 squads based on the limited amount of movement of the other four franchises.
Only the Chiefs with the loss of Aaron Cruden,James Lowes and Micheal Leitch were gonna be hit the hardest but is been a credit to them despite losing 6 x props and several others they have battled away manfully.
But at least despite the injures,they have retained senior players like Cane,Retallick,Messiam and Ngatai.To me that’s one of the fundamentals where the Blues have totally missed the boat in terms of their selections..once the leadership group got injured,Pulu,Kaino and SBW and I will also add Blake Gibson into that group the wheels have slowly fallen off.
Add in the injuries to what already not the strongest squad of the five,and this is what you get.Looking at the attrition rate in this competition,I believe it’s doubly important to select your squad with injuries in mind especially if your are thin on leadership and to me,this is one of the biggest failings of this coaching panel.
I asked the question of high performance manager Tony Hanks late last year when Stephen Luatua and Charlie Famauina left the Blues,was there a train of thought to chase 2 like for like players with experience,I even threw a couple names out there like a Blade Thomson or a Michell Graham..?;not totally sure about Graham,I think he maybe a loose head..
Hanks just said,you will be surprised with what we will dish up with squad..!,Really..!,even I could see they were thin if injuries occurred.So I guess...SHOULD WE REALLY BE THAT SURPRISED AT WHATS HAPPENING ...?,I for one am not.
Despite the accusations above, my post was not to make excuses for performance. It was an exercise to see the injury effect on the makeup of the team and raise discussion on that.
Thanks @Steven-Harris, your post did just that.
To me the big issue (as far as team makeup goes) is that the leadership required to drag this franchise up has not been available or effective and that the injuries have removed any spine the team could develop. There has been almost zero ability to select a consistent 2,4,8,9,10,15 or even segments of that. That will hurt a team badly.
By the way, that is a reason, not an excuse.
For those comparisons with the Chiefs see the Chiefs thread where I have compared a pre-season selection in the same way. The massive difference is that the Chiefs have been able to rely on some world class experienced leaders to oull them through games. Cane, Messam, BBBR have, when required, stepped up hugely to create surprise wins. The Blues (apart from an injured Kaino and possibly an injured SBW) have really suffered from not having that type of player. Unfortunately you cant recruit that type, you have to grow them. -
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@crucial not sure the leadership is upto it even if all were on board.
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@taniwharugby said in Blues v Jaguares:
@crucial not sure the leadership is upto it even if all were on board.
That's what I said. There was only ever going to be a fit and firing Kaino (and maybe SBW) that would be in the same league as Cane, Messam and BBBR
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@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
@crucial said in Blues v Jaguares:
my post was not to make excuses for performance
Haha bullshit
Whatever. I deliberately didn't make comment when I posted the list as I thought it would divert any sensible discussion straight to criticising my opinion instead. But hey, if you think you know what was in my mind when posting better than I do, go ahead and fire a blank
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@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
Post after post making excuses for Umaga. You have been mocked plenty of times for your knight in shinging armour act.
Now you have a genius plan. Say "I'm not making excuses" before making excuses. It's funny.
Post after post? I simply explained my view (quite some time ago) then left it alone. Search the recent match threads and your own 'Win %' thread for my 'knighting' if you wish.
Apparently I'm not allowed a view on the problem at the Blues which is why I didn't make comment on that team post. Instead I get a view attributed to me that I didn't even make.
Show me the 'excuses made for Tana'. Previously, I have clearly stated my reasoning on why I think 'dump the coach' is not the best route and am happy for you all to have a differing view on that. I have even admitted a personal bias. Have I mocked anyone else's views on the matter in return?
I can't help it if you aren't going to engage fairly or offer constructive opinion. -
@steven-harris said in Blues v Jaguares:
Listened John Hart on radio sport this morning,one thing that he said which I said from the time this squad was announced in November 2017 it was easily the weakest of the 5 squads based on the limited amount of movement of the other four franchises.
I've been saying this for ages, we always have one shit squad, it's often been the Chiefs in the past, the Highlanders in more recent years, and the Blues for the past few years.
However, I also said at the start of this season that I expected to see improvement (even if they don't magically make the finals) and that clearly isn't happening.
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@duluth You should definitely get down to the TAB then, because the Jags are paying $3.15!
Blues are paying $1.35.
I should as well, because I'm not sure about this one either, but I tend to think the Jaguares look a better team on paper and they're on a bit of a roll. But they're on the road and at Eden Park....
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@chris-b said in Blues v Jaguares:
@duluth You should definitely get down to the TAB then, because the Jags are paying $3.15!
Blues are paying $1.35.
I should as well, because I'm not sure about this one either, but I tend to think the Jaguares look a better team on paper and they're on a bit of a roll. But they're on the road and at Eden Park....
My thoughts exactly. Even the points start at Blues +8.5 is pretty good value.
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I agree the Blues are favourites.
Of course the Blues have been bookies favourites in 3 games this year where they've gone on to spectacularly shit the bed. Neither of these teams are reliable
On that 8.5 point head start. There's a lot of wind out there and there's more rain expected. So that's a higher line than it appears
