Blues v Brumbies
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@gt12 said in Blues v Brumbies:
You would hope that if his future is at 10, that they would give him an NPC playing there before pushing him straight to it at this level. Black hasn’t been that bad and Zarn is doing well at 15.
agree, but I think let's just let him succeed at 15 before pushing him into 10. As you say, BB back next year, Zarn looks to me to have more upside at 15 than the others right now (noting we don't know how or where RTS will slot in and perform)
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Yes discipline will be the key for the Blues. They need to avoid giving away penalties that result in lineout drive opportunities.
I'm not that impressed by Black currently but for now best to keep Zarn at 15 he's doing wonderfully well there and in a lot of ways bailing Black out.
Brumbies are tricky in that coming off probably their worst performance of the year surely they'll bounce back.
If I was Brumbies i'd give their bench 9 a start (if White isn't available) as he made a really big difference when he came on - his style far more suited to getting Brumbies on the front foot.
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@kiwimurph said in Blues v Brumbies:
I'm not that impressed by Black currently but for now best to keep Zarn at 15 he's doing wonderfully well there and in a lot of ways bailing Black out.
Still a few areas I need to see Zarn shine in. I haven't yet seen him read tricky situations on defence, make good tackles, or really direct the defence.
That said, the kicking touch he showed against the Tahs was exceptional. Two or three great kicks to the corner that swing you straight into attack. Really nice work with people around defending. His passing was exceptional. You could see the pace of the passes he threw off each hand were clearly a step up on most in the backline - and that creates time and space for folk outside him. Very good skill to use when approrpiate.
So far, looks really promising. I'm actually really excited to watch his development
edit: or chime in and drive attacks. Will watch a replay of the wekeend to see what he did, but big upside I think
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@nzzp said in Blues v Brumbies:
@kiwimurph said in Blues v Brumbies:
I'm not that impressed by Black currently but for now best to keep Zarn at 15 he's doing wonderfully well there and in a lot of ways bailing Black out.
Still a few areas I need to see Zarn shine in. I haven't yet seen him read tricky situations on defence, make good tackles, or really direct the defence.
That said, the kicking touch he showed against the Tahs was exceptional. Two or three great kicks to the corner that swing you straight into attack. Really nice work with people around defending. His passing was exceptional. You could see the pace of the passes he threw off each hand were clearly a step up on most in the backline - and that creates time and space for folk outside him. Very good skill to use when approrpiate.
So far, looks really promising. I'm actually really excited to watch his development
edit: or chime in and drive attacks. Will watch a replay of the wekeend to see what he did, but big upside I think
There was great play from Sullivan last week, where he made the last ditch tackle and got a crucial turnover. He has Dagg/Jordie length to his kicks as well, makes such a difference.
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@kiwimurph Another interesting factor - the game will be refereed by former Aussie sevens skipper Damon Murphy -
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@daffy-jaffy yep easily the worst Aussie ref going.
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Did he ref this fixture over in Canberra 2 years ago?
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@african-monkey said in Blues v Brumbies:
Did he ref this fixture over in Canberra 2 years ago?
Yes.
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@african-monkey Lot of bullshit scrum penalties against the Blues that night, IIRC.
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@kiwimurph said in Blues v Brumbies:
Nock was excellent off the bench so they go with Ruru......
Nock injured
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15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 TJ Faiane, 11 AJ Lam, 10 Otere Black, 9 Finlay Christie; 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Tom Robinson (C), 5 Josh Goodhue, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe.
Reserves: 16 Soane Vikena, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Jonathan Ruru, 22 Harry Plummer, 23 Mark Telea.Players not considered with injury: Sam Nock (hip), Ofa Tuungafasi (knee), Sam Darry (head). Season-ending: Jone Macilai, Dillon Hunt, James Lay, Emoni Narawa
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@duluth said in Blues v Brumbies:
@kiwimurph said in Blues v Brumbies:
Nock was excellent off the bench so they go with Ruru......
Nock injured
Ah! Should have read the article
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Was Telea injured last week? Even if he was, seems rough to drop jacob ratumaitavuki-kneepkens
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@taniwharugby said in Blues v Brumbies:
Was Telea injured last week? Even if he was, seems rough to drop jacob ratumaitavuki-kneepkens
No, he wasn't.
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@taniwharugby I'd suggest it was pre planned. Give JRK a taste vs Tahs then bring back experience for Brumbies.
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@kiwimurph said in Blues v Brumbies:
@taniwharugby I'd suggest it was pre planned. Give JRK a taste vs Tahs then bring back experience for Brumbies.
critical game. 5 points at home is so important to set up for the finals.
Blues can have a single game without a bonus point, adn probably get there on PD. But if you don't get the BP in two games, you're done.
Seriously, it's a stupid comp. You could have 1-2 teams that are unbeaten, and get BP in 3 games, and still miss out. It's nuts.
