Highlanders 2021
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@bones i was just so happy that we were all talking about how the midfield being a real weak link...and then they went out and got some midfielders...and then at least one of them showed some real promiss...and then he got injured and we end up with Sio...
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones i was just so happy that we were all talking about how the midfield being a real weak link...and then they went out and got some midfielders...and then at least one of them showed some real promiss...and then he got injured and we end up with Sio...
Midfield is only a weakness due to selection and bizarrely the only one getting it right seems to be Holland, it's a country wide thing!
Collins finished up strongly at centre last season. Prior to that we had Walden at 12 in excellent form and forming a great combination with matchbox.
We've seen the Crusaders take their 12 from last year (and the AB 12) and move him to 13 (where he should have been all along) to accommodate a young, inexperienced player at 12....who seems to be touted as a 13.
What the fuck is in the water over there?
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@bones said in Highlanders 2021:
@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones i was just so happy that we were all talking about how the midfield being a real weak link...and then they went out and got some midfielders...and then at least one of them showed some real promiss...and then he got injured and we end up with Sio...
Midfield is only a weakness due to selection and bizarrely the only one getting it right seems to be Holland, it's a country wide thing!
Collins finished up strongly at centre last season. Prior to that we had Walden at 12 in excellent form and forming a great combination with matchbox.
We've seen the Crusaders take their 12 from last year (and the AB 12) and move him to 13 (where he should have been all along) to accommodate a young, inexperienced player at 12....who seems to be touted as a 13.
What the fuck is in the water over there?
McLeod is a 12 mainly, played on the wing a bit in his debut NPC season. due to injuries and lack of wing depth in 2019.
But he is not a 13,Too slow for a 13 as it proved when played on the wing., -
@stargazer said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones I've never seen McLeod touted as a 13; are you sure?
I was interested to see him named at 12 as I thought I'd only seen him at 13, so thought he must have been a specialist for them to be moving Goodhue (again). I found this.
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@bones said in Highlanders 2021:
@stargazer said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones I've never seen McLeod touted as a 13; are you sure?
I was interested to see him named at 12 as I thought I'd only seen him at 13, so thought he must have been a specialist for them to be moving Goodhue (again). I found this.
Wiki Haha He aint no centre
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@stargazer said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones Must have written by someone from the NH. The call all midfielders centre. Besides, Wiki, really?
Not too sure of the interest in McLeod from the NH, but ok. And yeah, not even wiki....just the google. I know he's a crusaders player but I didn't really have a HUGE interest in doing further research, it was merely to support my rant.
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@bones said in Highlanders 2021:
@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones i was just so happy that we were all talking about how the midfield being a real weak link...and then they went out and got some midfielders...and then at least one of them showed some real promiss...and then he got injured and we end up with Sio...
Midfield is only a weakness due to selection and bizarrely the only one getting it right seems to be Holland, it's a country wide thing!
Collins finished up strongly at centre last season. Prior to that we had Walden at 12 in excellent form and forming a great combination with matchbox.
We've seen the Crusaders take their 12 from last year (and the AB 12) and move him to 13 (where he should have been all along) to accommodate a young, inexperienced player at 12....who seems to be touted as a 13.
What the fuck is in the water over there?
From what I can find, McLeod primarily played 12 for NZ U20s, Canterbury U19, Canterbury and in his few Crusaders starts
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@chris said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones said in Highlanders 2021:
@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2021:
@bones i was just so happy that we were all talking about how the midfield being a real weak link...and then they went out and got some midfielders...and then at least one of them showed some real promiss...and then he got injured and we end up with Sio...
Midfield is only a weakness due to selection and bizarrely the only one getting it right seems to be Holland, it's a country wide thing!
Collins finished up strongly at centre last season. Prior to that we had Walden at 12 in excellent form and forming a great combination with matchbox.
We've seen the Crusaders take their 12 from last year (and the AB 12) and move him to 13 (where he should have been all along) to accommodate a young, inexperienced player at 12....who seems to be touted as a 13.
What the fuck is in the water over there?
McLeod is a 12 mainly, played on the wing a bit in his debut NPC season. due to injuries and lack of wing depth in 2019.
But he is not a 13,Too slow for a 13 as it proved when played on the wing.,Oops, too slow
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have to say im surprised, thought he might be due to go and earn some money overseas, there was the "what rugby means" video last week and he did seem really grateful to the Highlanders for picking him up
Really hope a clear plan has been communicated to Fakatava about how the two will work together
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@kiwiwomble I'm not surprised. He has expressed before that he didn't really want to go overseas. Obviously, he may have changed his mind about that, but he has ambition enough to want to play at the 2023 RWC. As our quality halfback stocks aren't exactly overflowing, I'm glad he's staying.
You're right about Fakatava. He's a very smart guy, who is starting to realise his worth. There's no certainty that he'll want to play for NZ or Tonga, but he'll definitely want to be top dog in a team. The pathway needs to be there, or he'll be gone, esp. because the Hurricanes (TJP - end of contract 2021) and Crusaders (both Hall - 2021 & Drummond - 2022) have halfbacks at the wrong side of 25 and near the end of their contracts, and may have a vacancy soon.
And then there may be Moana Pasifika ...
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Will Fakatava want to stick around for that long being behind Smith? He'd be smarter to head to another franchise, any other franchise I reckon he'd walk into the starting line up. Crusaders or Blues would probably be his best option if he wanted to start.
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@yeetyaah i think short answer is youre probably right,
i think there is an argument to be made that the highlanders and smith have a proven path too the top, smith was behind cowen for his first couple of years...but whether fakatava would buy into the long term path or if he'll want faster results
It might come down to whether Fakatava thinks he can actually overtake smith if he was to move or if he sees hims self as a successor nd so spending another couple of years training with him as a good option
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that cant be a good sign, if we couldn;t land him before resigning the one guy standing in front of him then....
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I know who he’s been in talks with. 🪒
