Blues 2021
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Blues contemplate changes ahead of season-defining clash
Blues contemplate changes ahead of season-defining clash against the Reds in Brisbane.
After watching Papalii immediately impress in his first start back from a medial ligament injury, MacDonald held fears the standout openside had tweaked the same knee in his 80-minute effort against the Brumbies.
Lock Josh Goodhue is also unlikely to feature after injuring his ankle, which should pave the way for captain Patrick Tuipulotu to regain his starting role with Sam Darry likely to come into the squad.
"Dalton has had an outstanding year. He looked a bit sore again now which is a bit of a worry," MacDonald said. "Hopefully he's okay. Bonus points are crucial and they were bashing away and he got a turnover midway through that second half that allowed us to exit and put pressure back on them. He makes big plays, he's always on the ball, his defensive work is outstanding. He leads a bit of passion in the team when he's on the park we have a lot more belief."
Changes for the Reds elsewhere appear certain, too, as MacDonald attempts to strike the right balance late in the season. All Blacks prop Nepo Laulala and Akira Ioane could be promoted from the bench, while playmaker Stephen Perofeta has been left to play club rugby in recent weeks.
"You normally see teams starting to dip after four matches so it's about making enough changes to keep us energised but not too many that we lose cohesion," MacDonald said. "At the moment we're playing with some good cohesion – the backs and forwards are complementing each other well so they're the big decisions we'll have to make. There's going to be some forced changes, and there might be a couple of others to make sure we bring some good energy."
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@snowy said in Blues 2021:
@tim Amusing hearing Dalton say in the after match that was just getting old. I think that he is 25. Poor old bastard. We have space for him in GOM.
You were talking him up a few years ago and you were right. He is seriously good.
Yeah, 23. Hopefully he is fit. Huge step down to Gibson these days, and I suspect Choat is injured.
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@tim said in Blues 2021:
@snowy said in Blues 2021:
@tim Amusing hearing Dalton say in the after match that was just getting old. I think that he is 25. Poor old bastard. We have space for him in GOM.
You were talking him up a few years ago and you were right. He is seriously good.
Yeah, 23. Hopefully he is fit. Huge step down to Gibson these days, and I suspect Choat is injured.
Yeah I reckon Choat has the right stuff too. Gibson is likely to be done, poor bloke has been surpassed while he was constantly broken.
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@tim said in Blues 2021:
Yeah, 23. Hopefully he is fit. Huge step down to Gibson these days, and I suspect Choat is injured.
Gibson is a shadow of what he was 2-3 years ago. Choat I think has dropped out of favour after a slightly below par game.
The way the bench is set up Papali'i is expected to play 80mins. Ioane is the openside cover and generally subs on relatively early at 6 or 8
I wonder if they'll move back to a 6/2 split for a couple of games?
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@duluth said in Blues 2021:
Good to see some talk about keeping the forwards fresh. Would've like to see some more flexibility around that earlier in the year.
Maybe they thought that they needed the no1 pack for SRA to compete. STT isn't so tough so a few more risks. We do have a good group so they don't lose too much with rotation.
Pissed off that G CL is leaving. He's in the form of his life.
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@snowy said in Blues 2021:
Maybe they thought that they needed the no1 pack for SRA to compete. STT isn't so tough so a few more risks. We do have a good group so they don't lose too much with rotation.
Coventry talked about it at the time. They wanted to keep players in specific roles. He said more improvements come when the players have the same role each week
It's the cohesion v freshness balance MacDonald was talking about above.
My issue with it was Robinson was underused early on when he was the designated sub player. That only changed when injuries came (Tuipulotu). Now Robinson was needed as captain and Akira is the designated sub player and he is underused
There's 3 AB standard players in 2 positions. I think we would've gained more by rotating them. Impossible to prove of course..
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@duluth said in Blues 2021:
Choat I think has dropped out of favour after a slightly below par game.
seems Leon must have very specific things he wants players to do or targets to hit and if they dont, then they fall out of favour and seems tough to regain his faith.
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@duluth said in Blues 2021:
@snowy said in Blues 2021:
Maybe they thought that they needed the no1 pack for SRA to compete. STT isn't so tough so a few more risks. We do have a good group so they don't lose too much with rotation.
Coventry talked about it at the time. They wanted to keep players in specific roles. He said more improvements come when the players have the same role each week
It's the cohesion v freshness balance MacDonald was talking about above.
My issue with it was Robinson was underused early on when he was the designated sub player. That only changed when injuries came (Tuipulotu). Now Robinson was needed as captain and Akira is the designated sub player and he is underused
There's 3 AB standard players in 2 positions. I think we would've gained more by rotating them. Impossible to prove of course..
I'd rather Sotutu was the underused one this year and Robinson and Akira were the two starters. Sotutu last year and this year are two different beasts but two good games in a row for him seems to have papered over that with media and fans.
What is weird, is that I think Akira is the tightest forward of those three in the current game plan, the Ginga Messiah is playing a lot looser than last year clearly on the game plan.
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The Wizard's big decision: Otere Black weighs future with Blues
With Beauden Barrett set to return, Otere Black is weighing his future with the Blues.
Paywalled. Here's relevant quotes
"To be honest I'm going through that at the moment," Black told the Herald before the Blues departed for Brisbane on Wednesday afternoon. "I'm looking at options and we'll see what happens over the next month. "I'm pretty open to what's out there, but at the moment I'm solely focused on the next three weeks. "All options will be something I'll look at but I've left that to my management. I've told them I've got a couple of crucial weeks ahead of us and I don't want to have that stuff pondering in the background." Black and his partner recently welcomed eight-month-old daughter Areta. Providing for them is now the 26-year-old's top priority. "I've got a young family to look after so a lot of the decisions I make now it's not about me, it's about my family. That's the way I've gone about it. My daughter's arrival made me think about looking after my family and whatever it takes, I'll do it. Whether that's domestically or offshore, my big why in turning up to training and trying to perform well is making sure my family is well looked after. That will be a big part of my decision." -
@duluth This paragraph puts a "going offshore" spin on the article:
Once this Transtasman campaign is complete and a decision on his future made, Black is expected to savour potentially one of his last appearances for New Zealand Maori in their scheduled match against Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium on July 3.
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@nzzp said in Blues 2021:
@tim that, and Beauden coming next year...
seriously, though, I thought Otere would have a higher ceiling. He has been given every opportunity to succeed - unlike a number of previous 10s. He's had time at the Canes, and then an extended spell with us.
Decent time to ease into the team (coming off injury), a good forward pack, decent front foot ball and quality coaching. He's been good at times, but the form has been too patchy.
With BB coming, I'd be looking to keep one out of him, Perofeta and Plummer. Same applies to Plummer - I really wanted him to succeed, but he just hasn't delivered on the park given decent opportunities. We should be looking at a development 10, and wish the others well on their future rugby careers.
