Tasman vs Canterbury - semifinal
-
Well there you go. Canterbury always find a way.
-
@stargazer Will Jordan got sold down the river to be fair when Alaimalo rushed in for no reason.
-
@african-monkey They're like a rash that keeps coming back.
-
@stargazer You got that right haha.
-
Good game from both Ta$man locks, David Havili, Blackadder. But Bridge owned Jordan, Drummond outplayed Christie and Romano played like a boss.
Ta$man should have put more points on the board during the first half when they dominated possession and territory, but bad passing and handling errors let them down, not to mention those two yellow cards in the second half.
Canterbury hasn't been as good as previous seasons by a long shot, but the experience of players like Drummond, Romano & a few others made the difference.
-
Big upset.
Not another final....
-
First leg of the multi comes in
-
@stargazer Whitelock coming back was huge as well. He improves their defence massively when he's there.
-
Jordan undone by the new law...oh well both he and Alaimalo should take the learnings away from this
-
Sit down little brother sit down. Brett Cameron outplayed hunt too. Didn’t even see him on the field. Whitelock , Drummond and romano were huge tonight.
-
I am cringing at this result. This Canterbury team is not that good. The forwards are good enough compared to past teams, but the backs are poor.
While some are on the Bridge bandwagon I am far from sold on him. He remains inconsistent under the high ball and while he can be an elusive runner he is lacking the polish to finish things off.
Ennor looks a good athlete, but I don't think centre is his best position at the moment. He lacks the linking/decision making game the good centres have.
The wings are uninspiring, there is dross at 2nd five and Cameron is passable at Mitre 10, but I would hate to rely on him at a higher level.
Hopefully next year I can get excited about the team.
-
@crazy-horse said in Ta$man vs Canterbury - semifinal:
I am cringing at this result. This Canterbury team is not that good. The forwards are good enough compared to past teams, but the backs are poor.
While some are on the Bridge bandwagon I am far from sold on him. He remains inconsistent under the high ball and while he can be an elusive runner he is lacking the polish to finish things off.
Ennor looks a good athlete, but I don't think centre is his best position at the moment. He lacks the linking/decision making game the good centres have.
The wings are uninspiring, there is dross at 2nd five and Cameron is passable at Mitre 10, but I would hate to rely on him at a higher level.
Hopefully next year I can get excited about the team.
I agree with this assessment, and I agree that our backs are a real concern. I think you're being a touch harsh on Bridge. Whilst I concede that his form has tapered off in the Mitre 10 Cup, he's had a long season and played lots of Rugby.
Second five eighth is our big problem. We've been spoiled in past seasons with Rob Thompson, and none of the options we've tried this season have inspired any confidence whatsoever. Phil Burleigh has always been a journeyman (how he ever became a test player beggars belief) and Sam Beard is even worse. If we're going to again reach the heights of the past decade we need to invest in a decent no.12. In terms of positives, we've got some genuine pace coming through in Makene, Garden-Gachop, Mackay and Punivai. Now we just need some size and some creativity to unleash this pace.
What does excite me is some of our emerging forwards. I've really like Hamish Dalzell's form this year, and Mitch Dunshea has been great as well. Christie has improved with every game, after looking a bit out of his depth at the start of the campaign. I'd have liked a bit more from Billy Harmon and Reed Princeep, but overall I can't be too unhappy with the pack as they've carried the team this year and taken us to another final
-
You had one job, Ta$man.
I thought Ta$man looked much more talented than Canterbury, but Canterbury somehow got it done again.
Aumua going off early in the 2nd half with a calf injury wouldn't of helped Ta$man, but in saying that, Canterbury had most of the ball in the 2nd half(82%), so his impact likely would've been minimal anyway.
I thought Cameron almost butchered it for Canterbury.
Romano likely sealed the Duane Monkley Medal with that game.
-
I had a re-watch yesterday. Pari Pari Parkinson was the best player on the field. Great first half at the lineout and with ball in hand, excellent second half in defense. This guy is more powerful than his lean frame might let it think. Good games from Aumua, Havili, Strange and Makalio as well. Jordan was a bit disappointing but the game did not go his way.
Canterbury had less individual brilliance (with the notable exceptions of Drummond and Bridge) but their collective play in the second half was just awsome.
