Blues v Highlanders
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
@Tim Good call Leon - TJ has gotten better every game at 13 (that's his 4th game).
He looked good last night. Smaller than others out there, but slippery. Thing is, with big boppers like Ma'a and SBW inside, and the back three we've got, you dont' need a monster at 13.
Pleased with how he's developing
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Be interesting to see if that is the monkey off their backs that they needed ,
Do they kick on or is it much of the same ?
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@African-Monkey his throwing hasnt really been an issue for a while now.
TBF I think there is a bit more to it (possibly with him looking off shore)...sat on the bench behind Parsons for 80 v SW and then dropped for Apisai who we know us the worst of the 3 by some distance.
You need guys like Parsons (and Moulds) in a squad but as your regular starter...
Be interesting to see Olsen develop if Moulds leaves, he is a leader and was in dev side last year.
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@taniwharugby North harbour's Loteru Latu started both Blues development team games I watched and impressed me. He outplayed Aumua in the Hurricanes game. He is only 20 but 119kgs and was very busy and effective looking for runs, tackling and hitting rucks. Coventry obviously knows him well so he will be a prospect to watch in the Mitre 10 along with Olsen, Kurt Eckland and Mike Sosene-Feagai.
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@taniwharugby they have stuck with Parsons as he is NH’s Captain and seems to be the Coach and Media man. Moulds is a much better runner ( he represented NZ in 7s for fs ) and his throwing has been better for some time now. He should have had a decent crack by now - just another in a series of Blues Coaching blindspots. No wonder they didn’t win a NZ darby for 3 years. This year seems better though...if Moulds time has passed and he leaves then Olsen deserves his crack.
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@Kirwan said in Blues v Highlanders:
What a big difference having competent coaches makes. Good selections, dross like Pulu banished to the bench, Collins gone, TJ and Nanai being used properly.
And so much more organised.
Wait...isn't TJ strictly a second five?
Leon for AB coach - he's already proven he can overcome serious adversity!
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@Chris-B he’s still working in the constraints of Tana’s squad (who didn’t think a 13 was very important).
So his use of the three 12s we have had been interesting.
Imagine how much impact TJ would be having in his preferred position? He certainly wouldn’t be missing as many tackles as he has been leading up to last night.
Both McDonald and Coventry have improved the performance and selection of the squad they have. When they start filling in the gaps as people contract out, we’ll get much stronger.
Without a comedy hour coach we might attract more talented players again. I like the look of the Crusaders backup hooker for instance
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Not reading the thread. But my 2c ...
How good were:
PT
TR
Rieko
Akira
NanaiNonu was pretty good too.
And Karl T off the bench.Actually Parsons had about the best game I've ever seen him play too.
And quickly please Blues fans: what do you perceive as wrong with Tony Johnson's commentary? I was supporting the Blues last night and I just don't get your dislike.
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@booboo when you get several guys that are at the top of their games..In most cases teams will win..good to get the monkey off the back though.
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@Kirwan I don't think it's a case of attracting talent, it's more a case of players within your region wanting to stay. Imagine the Blues if they had Goodhue, Ennor, Enari etc.
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@Canes4life said in Blues v Highlanders:
@booboo I don't think it's a case of attracting talent, it's more a case of players within your region wanting to stay. Imagine the Blues if they had Goodhue, Ennor, Enari etc.
The presumption is they'd be as good. Evidence shows that their development would likely have been retarded by inept coaching and selection.
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He’s a commentator that wants the Blues/Auckland to lose.
Stuff that other teams do, he pulls the Blues up on and just doesn’t mention it for the other four.
It would nice if we got colour commentary from Auckland biased experts, like everyone else gets for their teams. That would temper TJs bias, he can’t talk shit about the Chiefs when he’s teamed with Matt Cooper for instance.
It would be nice to have that sort of positivity when listening to our team.
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@Canes4life said in Blues v Highlanders:
@Kirwan I don't think it's a case of attracting talent, it's more a case of players within your region wanting to stay. Imagine the Blues if they had Goodhue, Ennor, Enari etc.
It’s a mixture of both. Yes, keeping talent in the region should be a priority, but we used to be able to fill a gap when necessary. Carlos being the best example of that.
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@nzzp said in Blues v Highlanders:
Rather than trolling, I'll just note that according to Sanzaar, the Blues are on the longest winning streak of Kiwi sides at the moment.
Two.
Take that you Cantabs with your (officially) broken streak. We're number one
As expected, one win over a NZ team and the real side of the Blues fans comes out.
I’ve missed it.
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I've missed non-Blues fans hating on Blues players for being too arrogant.
That's when you know Blues are doing something right.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
That's when you know Blues are doing something right.
Three weeks without losing! Honestly, I can't remember the last time I tasted such sweet heady heights. Maybe it's the rarified air up here.
ps: Hate on SANZAAAAAAAAAR if you like Cantabs, they're muppets
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
I've missed non-Blues fans hating on Blues players for being too arrogant.
That's when you know Blues are doing something right.
That was the highlight of the thread for me. All the sympathy we had been getting was making me feel like a Wallabies fan.
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@Kirwan said in Blues v Highlanders:
@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
I've missed non-Blues fans hating on Blues players for being too arrogant.
That's when you know Blues are doing something right.
That was the highlight of the thread for me. All the sympathy we had been getting was making me feel like a Wallabies fan.
Feeling dirty perhaps?
Stormers game massive next weekend. I shall scout them with interest against the Canes - if we can win that, it's the Tahs at home, then the Chiefs away. Then another one against the highlanders down there.
Hopefully we can get a roll on, and string together a few in a row.
I'm particularly looking forward to seeing some players get identified by Leon as well. Tom Robinson seems a real gem; we need to just stop our good players leaving the franchise, by being semi-credible.
next year:
Lose one (or both) of Ma'a and SBW (dropping our 12 stocks to 'only' three or so)
Keep developing tighties - getting Scrafton, PT and Goodhue fit at the same time would be niceDevelop a 9; people talking about the NH U20 player
Keep Plummer and Black going at 10,all of a sudden we're starting to build some experience and depth. We're 2-4 years away from having a production line, but of all the franchises we should be able to start harvesting locals -- but only if we stop being a joke of a place to play footy
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For a lot of the Blues players that is their first win over an NZ team ever
That (the emotional release) was a bit of everything … the last couple of weeks, the week we had with Christchurch and what not, and the monkey off our back all came out in that try celebration. "It was a bit over the top, but I'm happy."
Stuff