Reds v Blues
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@cgrant If Akira develops the way many Blues fans think he will then that trio could develop into New Zealand's best going forward. A good balance of height, power and hard edge.
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@Canes4life said in Reds v Blues:
@cgrant If Akira develops the way many Blues fans think he will then that trio could develop into New Zealand's best going forward. A good balance of height, power and hard edge.
"Going forward" in a ball carrying sense or in a 90's corporate wankspeak sense ?
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@cgrant said in Reds v Blues:
@Duluth said in Reds v Blues:
The backrow is better with Dalton at 6.
Disappointed that we aren't using Robinson to cover lock. I'd like to see if he could do it at this level. Robinson/Sotutu would offer more from the bench than Goodhue/Robinson
I like what I have seen of Papali'i so far but to say that the backrow is better with him at 6 is forgetting how good has been Tom Robinson who is the standout player for the Blues this year.
If you look at the stats when Dalton plays he’s the worker of the back row, hits rucks and makes a huge amount of tackles, carrys the ball.
Robinson has been great, but isn’t as busy and the Blues suffer for it. Especially as the team pattern has him on the wing a lot.
When the team pattern also has Akira in the midfield, that’s not many loosies over the ball!
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@Kirwan is that a fault of the pattern they are running then, or the players on the park for not sticking to thier roles?
Players might have the same position but the way they play suits them being in different parts of the structure, ie TR is stationed wide when he is on the park, whereas DP is used more centrally, so of course their work will be different.
Similarly when people were critical of Same Cane in years gone by when Ardie was making turnovers, bustling runs etc...they are used completely differently by thier respective teams, so again, while playing same positions, you cant directly compare stats to show who is the better/worse...just different.
All playing well to fit thier Job Description.
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
TR is stationed wide when he is on the park
Yes, in the last 20mins it seems he's been told to stand outside the winger. It is infuriating that they are doing this and turning over ball in the middle of the park.
Besides, his breaks dried up after the first month (probably after the opposition coaches noticed his speed)He's been very good this year but Dalton is the better player. The four best loosies should all be rotating anyway..
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
the illness to Tu’inukuafe is concerning, is that 2 or 3 weeks now?
Flu or some other virus?
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@taniwharugby spoke to a couple of people in the know at the Blues,Robinson Ranging wide has been a strategy ,because of his height and offloading ..he’s also been a great resource in the lineout as well ,
I know he is nowhere near the finished article ,but to be honest if we 15 Tom Robinson’s on the paddock that put in his sort of effort, we would be world beaters..
All this sort of talk makes me think he should bugger off to the Saders to totally improve his game..
From where I am looking I don’t see a hell of lot of improvement with some of the cattle they have in key decision making departments..not to mention the loss of Nonu,SBW and Melani Nanai who finally played up to his potential ,shame it’s taken him 4 seasons to figure it out. -
@Steven-Harris said in Reds v Blues:
Melani Nanai who finally played up to his potential ,shame it’s taken him 4 seasons to figure it out.
Nanai was great in his first season and was called into ABs training etc
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@KiwiMurph said in Reds v Blues:
I hope in the second half we see Papalii 8 and Robinson at 6.
Yes it would be good to see another combo. Or Robinson at lock..
We don't learn anything by seeing Goodhue come on at lock and Robinson at 6 again
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@Duluth but it would be fair to say this had been his most consistent season..I don’t believe for a second he’s a fullback, does not have a kicking game and the number of times he’s ignored support players not to mention the really frustrating one
Fields a kick and runs straight into contact..where a wide pass to another player and then double around or support would be the go..and that’s where he could have been very dangerous..!
I will reiterate he’s played bloody well this season..but why has the consistency in his game taken so long..?
Maybe Leon McDonald..? -
@Steven-Harris said in Reds v Blues:
but it would be fair to say this had been his most consistent season..I don’t believe for a second he’s a fullback, does not have a kicking game and the number of times he’s ignored support players not to mention the really frustrating one
Fields a kick and runs straight into contact..where a wide pass to another player and then double around or support would be the go..and that’s where he could have been very dangerous..!He's a winger who can cover fullback. The lack of another kicking option has hurt us
Remember Perofeta was probably first choice. He's injured, Trainor is injured and Collins is not good enough.
It's hard to criticise his selection at the back@Steven-Harris said in Reds v Blues:
I will reiterate he’s played bloody well this season..but why has the consistency in his game taken so long..?
Maybe Leon McDonald..?Not Umaga? Debut season was very good under Kirwan. Stagnated for 3 years. Another good season now.
Maybe they clashed? -
He’s been playing.
In the past if he had a game with a few mistakes he’d go back to the bench and hardly get used for weeks - he’s clearly a player that needs time out there, and probably a bit of support. Tana didn’t seem to have much trust in him.
It’s been great to see him get an extended opportunity. When he was stringing a few games together and playing 14 when he first started, I was sure that he’d get AB caps, but I guess that shows hard it is to break into the 3/4 spots. Probably also a reflection of the complete lack of coaching at the Blues.
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@gt12 said in Reds v Blues:
Tana didn’t seem to have much trust in him.
Lack of trust in squad players has been a common issue for Blues coaches for many, many years (conversely, some players kept getting picked despite sub-par performances)
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
Lack of trust in squad players has been a common issue for Blues coaches for many, many years (conversely, some players kept getting picked despite sub-par performances)
True of Kirwan/Umaga /MacDonald
However MacDoanld has a chance to clear out players he does not trust as their contracts expire.
For instance it's strange that Umaga didn't trust Moulds and then kept signing him.
I have no problem with a squad player not getting game time if they are not extended. But that implies a lot of 2nd/3rd tier players are not wanted by the current coach
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@nzzp said in Reds v Blues:
@Dice said in Reds v Blues:
Highlander fans now know how we felt when Li would never get dropped. :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:
... but, but, but, he's really fast in training!
