Blues 2020
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@Daffy-Jaffy hopefully Christie has a second wind for you guys he was absolutely rubbish for the Canes last year seemed very off the pace
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@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2020:
Scrafton is a loss but we get two for the price of one with Wardlaw and Tucker (not sure why we need six locks plus Robinson). interesting that Tucker is named in the loose forwards on some lists. Similar hard working players but Scrafton better at lineout i would say.
I think Tucker basically replaces Tupou as the loose forward who can play lock
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@rotated re: the midfield - Coach Leon confirmed this morning on Radio sport that once they knew SBW was leaving the plan B was to use Plummer to cover 12 as there were no suitable midfielders available. They then chose to bring in the promising young 10/15 Jack Heighton to learn and develop from being around Barrett etc. He also said that Marchant covers centre wing and fullback. So its good to have another fullback option.
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@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2020:
Fullback will be a pick between Perofeta and Duffie initially i guess, but I like Jarrod Page and just hope he can avoid injuries and contribute at some point.
Maybe Narawa as well? He looks like an extremely good winger but he did finish the BOP season as a fullback
There's a lot of 10's (even allowing for Barrett's late return) so they must be covering other positions.
I see Heighton is called a "early season replacement player" on the Blues website. Does anyone know who is injured?
I'm guessing Perofeta, because it's always Perofeta -
@Duluth Maybe he was originally covering Barrett's early absence until the SBW thing happened then they made him full-time.
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@Daffy-Jaffy That makes sense.. the profiles were probably done prior tot he SBW deal
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Forwards look similar to last year with some better depth. The two biggest questions IMO are who starts at hooker and who partners Tuipulotu?
I would have Eklund start at Hooker. A good solid hard worker. Niuia is perfect for an impact role off the bench.
Hopefully Parsons drops back into a mentor/injury cover role.I would give Pierce the first opportunity in the second row after a strong NPC. His stats seem incorrect the Blues website, Harbour lists him as 2.02 and 112kg which seems about right.
He's already more abrasive than GCT and Goodhue even though he's still adding muscle to his frame -
@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2020:
@rotated re: the midfield - Coach Leon confirmed this morning on Radio sport that once they knew SBW was leaving the plan B was to use Plummer to cover 12 as there were no suitable midfielders available.
When was that? Leon was flagging SBW was gone as early as June, and anyone with foresight would have seen that he was moving on before the season started. Even if he re-signed how could any faith be put in his fitness?
Speaking of Rangi I did enjoy him on the Breakdown trying to play off the Barrett signing as though the move was at least in part because he was so impressed with playing the Blues last season.
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I'd assume that if he's living in Remuera then it'll be College Rifles not that it matters haha.
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Six locks explained?
The absence of several others is also likely to be keenly felt. Tough lock Scott Scrafton has signed with the Hurricanes and the Blues may lack a bit of depth in his area early in the season, with All Black Patrick Tuipulotu a possibility to start a little later and Gerard Cowley-Tuioti recovering from a shoulder injury.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=12284607
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@Tim why didn't they sign Geoff cridge
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@Jonty-lean I think they have better players signed to be honest.
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@rotated said in Blues 2020:
When was that?
Radio sport Wednesday morning after 7:30am sports news. I tried to sort a link for you but the 'week on demand' page isn't working for me. Won't load anything before Thursday. You could try it yourself here -
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@Tim I think I read on here from Steven Harris that Sam Caird will be training with the team as injury cover, I guess that's for C/T. Interestingly MacDonald said on the radio that Tucker can also play 6 and 8 so that explains why he was grouped with the back rowers on some team lists I saw.
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So what's your first choice XXIII?
- Karl T
- Parsons
- Ofa T
- Tuipulotu
- Pierce
- Robinson
- Papalii
- Ioane
- Christie
- Barrett/Plummer
- Ioane
- Faiane
- Marchant
- Narawa
- Perofeta
Reserves:
- Niuia
- Hodgman
- Renata (Thought he went well in NPC in the scrum)
- Tucker/GCT
- Gibson
- Nock
- Tele'a/Plummer
- Duffie/Telea
Hooker and Lock are hard to pick, as are the lock and loose forward reserve. Hopefully there's a healthy level of rotation. Uncertainty over fullback. Wouldn't be surprised to see Marchant and Ioane swap places.
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@Daffy-Jaffy MacDonald said that they wanted Sione Havili, but he chose the Crusaders. Bugger.
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