Waratahs v Crusaders
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@KiwiMurph said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Cullen Grace's AB chances took a big hit tonight.
He was just "there" without adding anything.
Foster will be keen then
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@Kirwan said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@broughie said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@Toddy Perhaps the crusaders are just not that good.
Lack of squad depth utterly confirmed.
believe me.. it's been frustrating, the Crusaders insistence on journeyman such as Bower, Hickey, Gardiner, Klein, Dalzell, Christie, Burke, Grace, etc.. is puzzling to say the least. Their recruitment for the last 3 seasons has been basically non-existent, been relying on the old boys getting into mid-30's (Whitelock, Taylor, Moody) and lots of the players coming through that they've recruited in either the main or wider squad simply aren't up to Super level, the depth just ain't there - too many Canterbury NPC journeymen and limited hard grafters. The recruiting has been so unbelievably insular ever since the 2019 season, I've said it many times previously that the complacency & laziness in their recruitment over the last 3 seasons would eventually come back to bite them.
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Pretty poor right across the board tonight. Codie Taylor a shadow of his former self. The bench was the only positive really, Havili (the forward), Newell, and maybe Williams. Everything just looked so laboured.
RTS as an AB midfield option just became much more attractive. -
@Derpus said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
I dont want to come across as whining about the ref but the bloke who ended Hoopers night with a high tackle should have already been sent from the field a few minutes earlier for direct contact to the head.
O'Keefe failed on the player safety front IMO.
Disagree, I agree with commentators etc, first one was a rugby incident, and I thought the Tahs player's head actually hit Dalzells more than the other way around.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Pretty poor right across the board tonight. Codie Taylor a shadow of his former self. The bench was the only positive really, Havili (the forward), Newell, and maybe Williams. Everything just looked so laboured.
RTS as an AB midfield option just became much more attractive.Havili once again was as effective as a paper bag in the midfield, and Whitelock & Taylor are utter dinosaurs who are quite obviously 2-3 years past their expiry dates at this point. None of them should be in a starting ABs XV, and Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Grace, Bower etc.. shouldn't be anywhere near an All Black squad either. Keep the Crusaders bog-standard, awfully limited players away from our national side FFS Foster.. except for Jordan & Reece - they are more than welcome.
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Thought Matera Reece and the props did well for Crusaders to bring them back into a game they were well beaten in elsewhere in first half. Evan seemed to miss Bridge and Ennor tonite. The Tahs wingers loosies and halves were great. Really like Gordon Edmed and Foketi.
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@ARHS said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Thought Matera Reece and the props did well for Crusaders to bring them back into a game they were well beaten in elsewhere in first half. Evan seemed to miss Bridge and Ennor tonite. The Tahs wingers loosies and halves were great. Really like Gordon Edmed and Foketi.
Reece was dangerous, LF and Jordan might as well have been on the bench.
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@antipodean to be fair, they barely got any ball, the problems were well ahead of them.
Not saying either should be in the ABS, just sweeping statements like that after a team performance like that are bit OTT IMO.
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@KiwiMurph said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Cullen Grace's AB chances took a big hit tonight.
He was just "there" without adding anything.
Christie is too small and ineffective, an absolute powderpuff against the heavier packs, Grace is not the answer at 8, I'd have Matera there or even S.Havili, although both are just 105 kg & are stop-gap measures at best, not longer-term solutions there. Far too many lightweight passenger forwards in the squad. They need someone who can carry the ball with power, someone like even Frizell or MMT from the Highlanders would be a godsend Lol..
Crusaders lack dynamic, ball-carrying athletes in the forwards, they haven't even had one there since Taufua departed in 2019... the recruitment has been genuinely shocking for the last 4 seasons.
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@kiwi_expat they tried to recruit Frizell but he turned them down
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@Kirwan said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
So four missed tackles from DH in end. Grace joined Christie for missing three each.
Crusaders just got owned in the breakdown at times. Only part of their game that was the usual standard was the scrum.
Did notice something from him on what looked like a missed tackle in the game - seems he will kind of hit and release if he's stretching and the player has stopped. This one he kind of swung around the player and was struggling to hold on, but released when he saw one or two others had it covered.
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@kiwi_expat said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Pretty poor right across the board tonight. Codie Taylor a shadow of his former self. The bench was the only positive really, Havili (the forward), Newell, and maybe Williams. Everything just looked so laboured.
RTS as an AB midfield option just became much more attractive.Havili once again was as effective as a paper bag in the midfield, and Whitelock & Taylor are utter dinosaurs who are quite obviously 2-3 years past their expiry dates at this point. None of them should be in a starting ABs XV, and Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Grace, Bower etc.. shouldn't be anywhere near an All Black squad either. Keep the Crusaders bog-standard, awfully limited players away from our national side FFS Foster.. except for Jordan & Reece - they are more than welcome.
I thought Goodhue did one or two ok things last night, but I still think he's a 12, as doesn't have top end speed to be 13. Though I have to say, let's not perhpas get to carried away, Crusaders were not flash, and Tahs tore into them especially at breakdown etc, but it's hardly end of world for them I don't think.
And boy I not a Crusader's supporter or anything. -
Terrible display. The forward pack is a mixture of journeymen and once-great players past their peak. Best forward was newell, that guy has a big future. Best back imho was Jordan. Thought goodhue did ok but Havili was poor. I think he’s a busted flush as a midfielder. This is the weakest crusaders side in along while. No way they win the comp.
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@Bovidae Most of his tackles are ineffective as well. About a third of his tackles he might stop the carriers in their tracks, the other two thirds the carriers make about 3-4 meters post contact. His jacking is also non existent, and he certainly ain't a ball carrier.
I'd take Moana Pasifika's loose trio over the Crusaders one at this current time.
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@Billy-Tell I wouldn't write them off yet. Hope they don't win though.
