Wellington vs Northland
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TJ Perenara and Asafo Aumua will be available for the first Bunnings NPC match this weekend.
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Players unavailable
Brady Rush (injured)
Johnny Macilai (injured)
Ross Wright (injured)
Cory Taylor (injured)
Fano Funaki (injured)
Tom Robinson (injured HIA)
Unavailable for selection
Sam Caird (MIQ)
Kara Pryor ( Under Suspension for 3 weeks) received in MRL for strikingMy guess is we will see minimal change to the starting side that faced Auckland, so is likely to be:
Te Whata-Colley, Olsen, Li
Hallam-Eames, Goodhue
?, McNamara, Rush
Nock, Reihana
Gregory, Ranger
?Tua, Hyland, Leilua -
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@canes4life Is Tyrone Thompson injured again, or is he already on his way out (assuming the rumours about his Chiefs signing are true)?
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@stargazer I think there are a few injuries for Wellington atm. Proctor, Morgan and Thompson are all from MSP, must be something in the air.
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@pepe I like the side, outside of Robinson, and a tweak to the outside backs, as strong as we can put out!
Still have reservations about our coaching and tactics.
But gee that's a strong Wellington team a dozen super players, 5 ABS.
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@foobanz said in Wellington vs Northland:
Anyone know much about Whitman?
That is a very strong NPC level team.
Did a quick search on Whitman. Nothing much except he's a young player. Made the NZ schools team back in 2018. But couldn't find and stats and the Lions team info is still not done
Agree its a strong NPC side (even though a lot are missing) although still not convinced Love is ready for 1st 5 yet. Maybe though he will find his feet a bit more at a lower level. Goosen I thought looks VG at FB a few years back when he last played there for a few games. When is JGB due back?
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@taniwharugby said in Wellington vs Northland:
@pepe I like the side, outside of Robinson, and a tweak to the outside backs, as strong as we can put out!
Still have reservations about our coaching and tactics.
But gee that's a strong Wellington team a dozen super players, 5 ABS.
Not sure about Hyland as a fullback. How did he go the other day? Tua should be in the Centre’s but Rene isn’t a winger anymore. Pisi needs a big one,
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@kev yeah tweaks the outsides...
Push HYland to the wing, Rayasi or Ranger to the other, Tua to centre, either Cooper at the back.
HYland went fine, Auckland didnt put the ball in behind him much so wasn't exposed like I expected.
Yeah Pisi is an odd one, probably dev side being his ceiling. Has physical attributes but just doesnt seem to have it for this level, and TBF stands out in club footy so deserving of his spot initially (which is more than I can say of a couple others who dont seem to stand out in club footy and then cant translate to this level either)
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@taniwharugby said in Wellington vs Northland:
@kev yeah tweaks the outsides...
Push HYland to the wing, Rayasi or Ranger to the other, Tua to centre, either Cooper at the back.
HYland went fine, Auckland didnt put the ball in behind him much so wasn't exposed like I expected.
Yeah Pisi is an odd one, probably dev side being his ceiling. Has physical attributes but just doesnt seem to have it for this level, and TBF stands out in club footy so deserving of his spot initially (which is more than I can say of a couple others who Don seem to stand out in club footy and then cant translate to this level either)
Yes - the mix is not quite right. I like Noah Cooper as a player - not big or fast at this level but was really good at 7s a few years back as a player that took good options. Johnny Cooper would do a good job. Wait and see how they go - Jordan Hyland always seemed a big guy who struggled to turn around. Do we have a Rayasi?
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@winger said in Wellington vs Northland:
@foobanz said in Wellington vs Northland:
Goosen I thought looks VG at FB a few years back when he last played there for a few games
Yeah I remember watching him a few years ago he seemed to excel with all that extra space.
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@kev plus Noah has a good boot on him too, looks unco as but seems to make good decisions.
Yeah Johnny Cooper would be an option at FB too, or Rush when he is back.
I like Hyland on the wing but TBH we have never utilised his game enough, but yea his turn and chase has been exposed a few times.
Fritz Rayasi, younger bro, played on the wing for the dev side on weekend, granted Ngati Porou are a step down, picked up a nice double and just has size, pace, and a bit of spark, and without Macilai, we need that...plus we are lacking pace fullstop, Aseri the little Sharks winger is someone I'd like to see given a shot on the wing, again, v Ngati Porou, but scored a scorching 80m solo try beating half the oppostion with pace and agility after receiving the kick off, was awesome to watch.
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@taniwharugby said in Wellington vs Northland:
@kev plus Noah has a good boot on him too, looks unco as but seems to make good decisions.
Yeah Johnny Cooper would be an option at FB too, or Rush when he is back.
I like Hyland on the wing but TBH we have never utilised his game enough, but yea his turn and chase has been exposed a few times.
Fritz Rayasi, younger bro, played on the wing for the dev side on weekend, granted Ngati Porou are a step down, picked up a nice double and just has size, pace, and a bit of spark, and without Macilai, we need that...plus we are lacking pace fullstop, Aseri the little Sharks winger is someone I'd like to see given a shot on the wing, again, v Ngati Porou, but scored a scorching 80m solo try beating half the oppostion with pace and agility after receiving the kick off, was awesome to watch.
I think the selections are conservative. But hopefully those new guys get a shot before it’s too late.
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@kev well given both Tua and Macilai seem made of glass they probably will.
