AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?
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@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@ACT-Crusader said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
distribute like Robinson
You couldn't help yourself could you.
I hope he cleaned his keyboard and monitor afterwards.
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@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Frank said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp sure, I'm not really talking about his Super form this year, more his body of work in black. Has it really been that impressive? Last RWC for example?
One of the few players who played well in our loss to England.
Same solid self. Unflustered.A ringing endorsement
So what does he have to do then?
Like I've said a few times, I'm not advocating for anyone else at this point. He's a good 13 and deserves his spot. I just think he has become a bit overrated for simply being solid.
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@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Frank said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp sure, I'm not really talking about his Super form this year, more his body of work in black. Has it really been that impressive? Last RWC for example?
One of the few players who played well in our loss to England.
Same solid self. Unflustered.A ringing endorsement
So what does he have to do then?
Like I've said a few times, I'm not advocating for anyone else at this point. He's a good 13 and deserves his spot. I just think he has become a bit overrated for simply being solid.
I can't figure out if you're talking about Smith now. 😉
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@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
McKenzie on the other hand is at a real risk of missing out if he continues with his current vein of form.
Shocker of a game against the 'Canes - apart from one brilliant tackle.
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@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp sure, I'm not really talking about his Super form this year, more his body of work in black. Has it really been that impressive? Last RWC for example?
Thought his form in RWC2019 was as impressive as any other AB - probably better.
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@cgrant said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
The 13 jersey should be for Goodhue or Rieko Ioane.
Have to disagree. The last thing we need is another 4 years of buggering about with midfield combinations. Stick with Goodhue/ALB and build the understanding.
That said, I'd want Reiko in the squad covering 11, 13 & 14. He had a shit 2019 in black but is just too a player to abandon.
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@ACT-Crusader said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Frank said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@voodoo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp sure, I'm not really talking about his Super form this year, more his body of work in black. Has it really been that impressive? Last RWC for example?
One of the few players who played well in our loss to England.
Same solid self. Unflustered.A ringing endorsement
So what does he have to do then?
Run lines like Conrad, hit hard in defence like Frank, distribute like Robinson, get over the ball like Tana....that’s all
Mark Robinson was hardly one of the great AB centres. His career was just too brief. That guy that @taniwharugby knows though, boy oh boy I hear he was a good un.
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@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@ACT-Crusader said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
distribute like Robinson
You couldn't help yourself could you.
It’s always good to keep you fellas on your toes 😉
So when do we name this first AB team, I’ve got a few suggestions...
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@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@cgrant said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
The 13 jersey should be for Goodhue or Rieko Ioane.
Have to disagree. The last thing we need is another 4 years of buggering about with midfield combinations. Stick with Goodhue/ALB and build the understanding.
That said, I'd want Reiko in the squad covering 11, 13 & 14. He had a shit 2019 in black but is just too a player to abandon.
I agree that the ALB / Goodhue midfield is our best currently, but I wonder if they are a bit samey. Would our midfield be better served, in the longer-term, with someone else in the 12 or 13 jersey? Neither of them are real bruisers. Nor are they super quick with the ability to skin someone on the outside. Neither of them is a second play-maker who can take some of the load off our 10.
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@junior the resurgence of ALB last year seemed to coincide with him getting a lot of the pace back that he used to have - when he used to be capable of playing wing.
I see where you're coming from though...Josh Ioane at 12? Or just Mounga shuffles out to make room for Mitch Hunt.
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@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@cgrant said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
The 13 jersey should be for Goodhue or Rieko Ioane.
Have to disagree. The last thing we need is another 4 years of buggering about with midfield combinations. Stick with Goodhue/ALB and build the understanding.
That said, I'd want Reiko in the squad covering 11, 13 & 14. He had a shit 2019 in black but is just too a player to abandon.
I agree that the ALB / Goodhue midfield is our best currently, but I wonder if they are a bit samey. Would our midfield be better served, in the longer-term, with someone else in the 12 or 13 jersey? Neither of them are real bruisers. Nor are they super quick with the ability to skin someone on the outside. Neither of them is a second play-maker who can take some of the load off our 10.
All fair points.
Not saying Fozzie shouldn't try things out and develop more midfield talent, but we need to have some sort of settled combination as a baseline. ALB is a class player but has never been able to settle in a position at Test level, IMHO.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
ALB is a class player but has never been able to settle in a position at Test level, IMHO.
Despite having a personal chip on my shoulder about the Chiefs, ALB is absolutely outstanding and should be a starter wherever you squeeze him.
My addled memory is that he was one of our best at the RWC. Hopefully Fozzie can unlock our midfield AND PICK A SETTLED GODDAMN COMBINATION
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@nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
My addled memory is that he was one of our best at the RWC.
Like his commitment as well. A lot of other players would have taken the big spondoolies in Japan or France if they'd been mucked about like he seems to have been.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
My addled memory is that he was one of our best at the RWC.
Like his commitment as well. A lot of other players would have taken the big spondoolies in Japan or France if they'd been mucked about like he seems to have been.
Love it, I'm learning new words most days:D
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@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@cgrant said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
The 13 jersey should be for Goodhue or Rieko Ioane.
Have to disagree. The last thing we need is another 4 years of buggering about with midfield combinations. Stick with Goodhue/ALB and build the understanding.
That said, I'd want Reiko in the squad covering 11, 13 & 14. He had a shit 2019 in black but is just too a player to abandon.
I agree that the ALB / Goodhue midfield is our best currently, but I wonder if they are a bit samey. Would our midfield be better served, in the longer-term, with someone else in the 12 or 13 jersey? Neither of them are real bruisers. Nor are they super quick with the ability to skin someone on the outside. Neither of them is a second play-maker who can take some of the load off our 10.
While i agree in theory, we tend to use the 15 as our second playmaker these days. Add to that Aaron Smith at 9 and I would argue we don’t need another “playmaker” in midfield.
I think we mainly need guys who can make good decisions, not get smashed backwards in defence or attack and clean up messy situations/provide a bailout option to take the pressure off the 10. Setting up the wingers with a well timed pass, running good support lines and not leaving big holes in defence i would have under the good decisions banner.Being a wrecking ball is great. Nonu could do it all but SBW and Laumape sacrificed a bit in other areas to achieve that.
Pace to skin someone on the outside is also great but not at the expense of the rest. When was the last centre we had who could do that?
Until someone who is clearly better comes along i am happy we have ALB and Goodhue around to form that midfield partnership.
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@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@junior the resurgence of ALB last year seemed to coincide with him getting a lot of the pace back that he used to have - when he used to be capable of playing wing.
I see where you're coming from though...Josh Ioane at 12? Or just Mounga shuffles out to make room for Mitch Hunt.
I think either of those options would work quite well. It may even turn out better for everyone to have Hunt at 10 and Ioane at 12 with either Goodhue or ALB at 13.
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My take, for what it's worth, is that ALB and Goodhue is a good but not great midfield. The kind that will look a million bucks when we are on top and beating a team, but when shit gets really tough, won't create much by themselves.
There isn't much point having the next Conrad Smith if he's not playing outside the next Nonu.
Ioane's extra pace could be the key weapon we are looking for to unlock top level test defenses. In which case I would look at someone smart and robust at 12, which could be Goodhue.
We need to find the right mix with a good combination of attributes. It'll take a bit of juggling to find it though unfortunately.
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@pukunui said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@Victor-Meldrew said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@cgrant said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
The 13 jersey should be for Goodhue or Rieko Ioane.
Have to disagree. The last thing we need is another 4 years of buggering about with midfield combinations. Stick with Goodhue/ALB and build the understanding.
That said, I'd want Reiko in the squad covering 11, 13 & 14. He had a shit 2019 in black but is just too a player to abandon.
I agree that the ALB / Goodhue midfield is our best currently, but I wonder if they are a bit samey. Would our midfield be better served, in the longer-term, with someone else in the 12 or 13 jersey? Neither of them are real bruisers. Nor are they super quick with the ability to skin someone on the outside. Neither of them is a second play-maker who can take some of the load off our 10.
While i agree in theory, we tend to use the 15 as our second playmaker these days. Add to that Aaron Smith at 9 and I would argue we don’t need another “playmaker” in midfield.
I think we mainly need guys who can make good decisions, not get smashed backwards in defence or attack and clean up messy situations/provide a bailout option to take the pressure off the 10. Setting up the wingers with a well timed pass, running good support lines and not leaving big holes in defence i would have under the good decisions banner.Being a wrecking ball is great. Nonu could do it all but SBW and Laumape sacrificed a bit in other areas to achieve that.
Pace to skin someone on the outside is also great but not at the expense of the rest. When was the last centre we had who could do that?
Until someone who is clearly better comes along i am happy we have ALB and Goodhue around to form that midfield partnership.
I agree with all this, which is why I said that they are currently our best midfield combination. My concern is that our midfield is a bit samey, perhaps lacking a bit balance and not bruising enough. I'm not advocating for a Laumape type here (although I think he potentially adds something useful for some match situations), but I think most would agree that we lack physicality across our backline generally. If our 9, 10 and 15 are going to be our skilful, but not physical guys, then - for balance - we need some power in our midfield. This is particularly the case where against some teams we will inevitably struggle to get really good forward momentum from our pack - it needs to come from somewhere else on the park.
