Blues 2019
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@Duluth my spies are telling me that the Blues are currently involved in talks with Robbie Abel which is a good move in my opinion,very experienced at super level and good enough to push the Parsons project..I do like the idea of carrying a really good young promising hooker..
Both Moulds and Apisai will be gone come seasons end. -
Which of the three would you have cut from the squad?
Nonu and SBW are both capable of playing 13 and Faiane has proven to be no slouch either.
This is squad has the previous RWC World Cup winning centre combo, yet somehow they are inept at playing centre? Baffling.
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@rotated said in Blues 2019:
Which of the three would you have cut from the squad?
Nonu and SBW are both capable of playing 13 and Faiane has proven to be no slouch either.
This is squad has the previous RWC World Cup winning centre combo, yet somehow they are inept at playing centre? Baffling.
It’s not 2015 anymore, they are not the same players.
Nonu was tried at 13 and was run around like he wasn’t even there. Funnily enough at 36 he’s lost some pace. It’s happened at 12 as well, where he was out paced by a flanker. A huge problem for a back.
SBW would have the same issues at 13.
TJ, as huge a fan as I am of his, has missed way too many tackles out of position. So all of them are not great options at 13.
That leaves squeezing them into 12, so the best 12 gets moved to 13 because the others would be worse and then you make do with an over the hill player subbing in when the injury prone one gets injured.
Where is the master stroke again? Laughable.
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@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
The best 12 in the squad has to play 13.
For most of this season he was the worst defensive midfielder in the competition. He's improved in the last couple of rounds and has now missed the 3rd most tackles and gotten his % above 70
A large number of those misses came in weeks 2 & 3. That of course doesn't count the ones where he was so far out of position, or the misses made by those around him trying to cover for him.
The Sharks game was blew out at the end butt he Jags match was very close. Would we have won with a centre who wasn't missing 5 tackles in the match?I don't blame TJ for it.. he's been put into a shitty position and is forced to learn a new position at a high level.
MacDonald has covered for him well in the press. After his worst game on defence he told the press TJ was great on defence and everyone just believed itHe is improving too. Thats not a surprise he's a very good player. That doesn't make the initial squad selection balanced though.
Also, I am unsure if the Stormers or Tahs were asking enough questions of him.Hopefully the worst is behind us now
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@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
That leaves squeezing them into 12, so the best 12 gets moved to 13 because the others would be worse and then you make do with an over the hill player subbing in when the injury prone one gets injured.
I agree that this is sub-optimal. I would have preferred they signed a world class centre (and fullback too for that matter), but I just don't see what compelling options that were turned down.
Given the inexperience at 10 (again could not be fixed with recruitment) guaranteeing a steady hand at 12 for every fixture is a better percentage play than picking a M10 Cup journeyman - even if it means Faiane gets found out a bit in the 13 slot.
So to be clear your answer is Nonu would be cut?
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Not cut, wouldn’t have signed him in the first place. It was moronic to sign a third 12 when there was a centre sized hole in the squad.
I’m sure Tana the dumbass was planning on playing Ioane at 13.
And I’ll bite on the journeyman dig, TJ was instrumental in winning us the first title in years. Fully earned his starting spot, and unlike the 12s in the squad his form is recent, not six years ago.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2019:
After a couple of weeks settling in TJ has been excellent at 13. He is extremely busy. His defence has improved out of sight.
He's a good player and he's learning quickly. He got some good numbers in defence recently but I'm not sure how much that means.. yet.
The Tahs pairing in their mid 30's was not the biggest test -
@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
It was moronic to sign a third 12 when there was a centre sized hole in the squad.
I think he was signed as a 13. Umaga's comments were about starting both of the old guys
Hopefully all his game time from here on will be at 12
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@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2019:
my spies are telling me that the Blues are currently involved in talks with Robbie Abel which is a good move in my opinion,very experienced at super level and good enough to push the Parsons project..I do like the idea of carrying a really good young promising hooker..
Also Abel might be going to another province, not Auckland?
Is Auckland recruiting someone else?
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There was still room if they signed a genuine centre instead of a prop in Levi aumua. That must have been Leon's work
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@muddyriver said in Blues 2019:
There was still room if they signed a genuine centre instead of a prop in Levi aumua. That must have been Leon's work
Aumua was the worst player on the field in the first Dev game this year.
It would have been fine if they signed Manu at the end of last season. He played well for the Blues Dev side, looked comfortable at the top level playing slightly out of position.
They kept spots open in the backs and who were the last two signed? Aumua and Trainor. Manu was a far better option.. he should have been secured before the NPC started and other teams got interested
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@Steven-Harris Moulds deserved more time on field. Lineout throwing his Achilles heel early on but that is substantially better now (but it sticks) so to see him warming the bench for 70 to 80 mins per game says something the Blues setup and the rotation of Harbour Coaches through the Blues setup. They kept signing Moulds, he their no 2 hooker and when he plays he is actually quite good. The Crusaders are constantly rotating players but Parsons (who is hardly athlete) gets more time on the field than Codie Taylor.
What’s the word on Jordan Olsen? He has been great for Northland - does he have the size and power for Super 15?
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@kev he is listed as 1.8m and 103kg, up close is a pretty solid unit, not as big as Moulds (6ft 2/1.88) but then Taylor & Coles are only 1.83/106 and 1.84/108kg...so if Olsen was training full time I expect he would get up there (obviously unlikely to grow taller...) but seems a very strong runner (he made alot of ground last year) with solid defence.
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Olsen and Kurt Ecklund were both excellent for the Blues in the Brisbane 10's last season but have yet to be chosen for development team this year. Ecklund has not even appeared in club rugby yet so must still be injured or has moved on? This year the Development team has used Loteru Latu and Mike Sosene Feagai.
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@Daffy-Jaffy Eklund seems to be living in Waihi.
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@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
And I’ll bite on the journeyman dig, TJ was instrumental in winning us the first title in years. Fully earned his starting spot, and unlike the 12s in the squad his form is recent, not six years ago.
Faiane is not the journeyman. Absolutely rate him and would have selected him and go along with KiwiMurph's assessment.
If you aren't picking Nonu who is this specialist 13 that would have taken his squad position? There is an apparent above average Super Rugby level player or promising young guy who was available last year that I can think they overlook. All that was left were journeymen who happened to wear 13 a little more recently than Nonu while he was having a world class career in 12.
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Unless he requests a release, according to the list on taniwha.co.nz Moulds is signed for this season.
Campbell Matthews was on the bench a few times last year, but got buggar all time, so unless another hooker appears on the horizon, I'd say we will run with those 3 again.
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Looks like Rieko won't be resting this week.
I think Rieko will get one of his rests against the Brumbies, then the other against either the Reds or Bulls.
Rieko running hot for Blues
