Highlanders 2023
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@Duluth i assume so, seemed like a good bloke, met him at the super round game last year, was wearing my old Dunedin RFC jersey and he and fakatava came over for a picture, one of those guys that wanted to earn his spot and didn;t think he was entitled too it. But yeah, feel there was some drama behind the scenes, hopefully nothing more than just not the right fit
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@Kiwiwomble wasnt he living rough a few years back, guess there may be other issues at play.
I think they have had a league background with his sister playing for NZ league (before coming to rugby)
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@taniwharugby the story was he was living rough or couch surfing before getting a scholarship to auckland grammer, from memory...so we're talking pre breaking it into professional rugby
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@Stargazer said in Highlanders 2023:
@friedrugby I read constantly on this thread that you want more players from the Highlanders catchment, and you have 7 players on your (yellow) wish list from outside the region, 5 of them from the Crusaders catchment?
Have all those departures in red been confirmed?
The ones with a location listed, barring Makalio (Which is a fair hunch of mine) are unconfirmed. Of those which are unconfirmed, the only ones I am iffy on are Johnstone, Hunt and Gregory.
- I sort of just expect Johnstone will leave because he hasn't played much, but if he is happy to stay, can't see why we would get rid of him
- Hunt, everyone says, he will be kept around, but what if he doesn't want to be kept around? Constantly abused, and at 27, could be a good time for him to go overseas. I am not necessarily against keeping him, because there is a bit of a concern the squad is light in leadership, so he could be there instead of Sopoaga, but IMO he doesn't have the kicking game of the modern 10, so I sort of just think he leaves.
- Gregory, I mean he could well stay, but I struggle to see why he would have had his contract extended. I know they are looking for backs, so can see him being dumped to free up space.
@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2023:
Without knowing too much my thoughts are
- I reckon Hunt will be retained. He will be the experienced 10 cover, although unlikely to play in that position except off the bench.
- Gregory to potentially also be retained. It appears as if both of those guys are seen as good team men.
- It will be interesting to see whether Ajay Faleafaga performs well in the NPC. I expect he will be in the squad for next year.
- Also believe Rohan Wingham will be a loosehead replacement
- Wouldn't mind thinking they might try and get Solomon Pole back to Dunedin as well
- Locks will be fascinating. Don't see much floating around. I wouldn't be surprised if Max Hicks gets told he is a lock for next season.
- If Hicks is pushed into a locking role, they might bring Will Stodart in early.
- Midfield and outside backs will be fascinating. It looks like they have a lot of faith in the midget Hurley. Fihaki would be a decent get. Potentially two spots available. Some of the depth players in the Blues would be ideal. They would walk into our starting side. Just need some out and out pace.
- Falefaga likely to be contracted judging off what Wheeler said, Hurley the same. I suspect Faleafaga might be more a midfielder which is a good thing
- Rohan Wingham is at least a year away from Super Rugby, and that is of course if he is any good...
- By Solomon Pole, I'm guessing you mean Abraham Pole? He is tidy, and you'd certainly have him, I just sort of expect he will stay at MP but could be wrong
- Locks is fascinating... I understand that the backs are (correctly) viewed as a bigger priority so could be a case of kicking the can down the road, to see whether Parkinson can return to form... he was great v the Blues and showed his ability, so perhaps with a good NPC behind him he rebounds. Dunshea is just a name, think it is more likely they get someone younger.
- With Hicks, they keep saying he is a blindside (even though I disagree) so I am working on the assumption that they will stick with him there. Stodart is clearly a good talent, I like the look of him, though he is probably a year away, but in that sense, if someone like Parkinson (who is off-contract next year) leaves, that then opens up a space in the loosies.
- I worry about Hurley, but I think they keep him. With the backs, the way I calculated it was five spots (+ Faleafaga and Hurley). Two of them will be reserve first fives/a midfielder. One of those could be Gregory, though I think more likely they contract three 10s + Faleafaga. Hollinshead a solid third choice, then on top of that I looked at Falcon, F Smith and Sopoaga. On top of that will be three marquee players, I'm picking a centre, a winger and a fullback. Evans, Tavatavanawai and Fihaki are all off contract, and I would think getable. AJ Lam and JRK have both turned us down before, so I'd be inclined to look at those other three first. Of course, TUJ could say, but the noises and hints suggest he won't. Should hopefully be a fun off-season!
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Yes I meant Abraham Pole. Homegrown player. Fairly good chance to bring back. In terms of Wingham, I'm willing to put a fairly strong wager on that he will be there next year.
I think Faleafaga is a 10, with the ability to play 12. Looking at the current NZ U20s, they know there are several strong 10s, who will play across the backline. It is similar to how the 2011 team ran the cutter with Anscombe at 10, Sopoaga at 12 and Beauden Barrett at 15. Heck, Piutau, the best fullback in that group, played on the wing to accommodate the 10s.
I think the balance of Hicks/Stodart/battler. Hicks is tall enough to be a lock. As a six, he is probably behind Withy and Renton, depending on mix. As a lock, he can be a bench option covering both lock and six.
With the other likely starting back recruits, anyone is better than what we currently have. Lets toss the cards up in the air and see who lands face up.
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@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
Without wanting to speak out of turn, my understanding was Vahaakolo was not at all liked by the coaches...
i think you can assume they didn't like him for some reason, i dont think his performances were worse than other they kept around so you assume it was somethigng else
@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
- Gregory, I mean he could well stay, but I struggle to see why he would have had his contract extended. I know they are looking for backs, so can see him being dumped to free up space.
me too...but i struggle to see why we played him the first time so i think its a safe bet the coaches see something we dont
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2023:
@Duluth really sums it up, for the first 2/3 of the seasons our attack was so predictable, it really was just through the hands and crash ball, id love to see those stats per game as it felt like we did better in the last few games with some variety...not much but a little
When you think Gilbert, TUJ, maybe Renton and Harmon were probably fairly high up individually on the defenders beaten list, it's pretty horrid.
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2023:
@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
Without wanting to speak out of turn, my understanding was Vahaakolo was not at all liked by the coaches...
i think you can assume they didn't like him for some reason, i dont think his performances were worse than other they kept around so you assume it was somethigng else
@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
- Gregory, I mean he could well stay, but I struggle to see why he would have had his contract extended. I know they are looking for backs, so can see him being dumped to free up space.
me too...but i struggle to see why we played him the first time so i think its a safe bet the coaches see something we dont
I'm not sure the coaches actually do though... the two things I heard were:
- The coaches/management in a hyperbole sense rated Smith, Fakatava and Gilbert. Nareki was injured at this stage, but can safely they assume they rate him, and believe Millar has a big future.
- Jonah Lowe was in no means the first choice, but they are targeting 2025, so wanted to get someone who wanted to commit long-term. My understanding is that certain guys would come, but only for a stack of cash on a one year deal and we weren't willing to do that - I don't have names, but I'm guessing Emoni Narawa potentially could have been a guy like that?
On top of this, going back to Gregory, my main point is really that they have to pick someone! I think the way they shuffled the deck chairs at the end of the season would suggest they don't rate Gregory, Lowe, Paea, Dawai, CGB, and all of the other guys who couldn't get a look in... I include TUJ in this as well. They'd love to rip the canvas up, but I think they sort of accepted that the market last season wasn't great, and were more keen to lock down local talent, with the idea of going to the market this year, where more guys are likely off contract and willing to move on. This is the biggest off-season since the balls-up of 19/20, and I won't be buying the excuses of players don't want to come. If you pay them enough, or structure it in certain ways, they'll come.
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@FakatavaAllBlack is this a good thing though? Who's likely to replace these guys? Can they afford to be losing guys so young, pretty worrying for the Highlanders.
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2023:
@FakatavaAllBlack is this a good thing though? Who's likely to replace these guys? Can they afford to be losing guys so young, pretty worrying for the Highlanders.
@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2023:
@FakatavaAllBlack is this a good thing though? Who's likely to replace these guys? Can they afford to be losing guys so young, pretty worrying for the Highlanders.
Not really. The current lot are not very good.
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(Ignore my name I need to change it haha)
Is Lima Sopoaga actually a realistic option for the Highlanders next year as he is off contract with Lyon..
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2023:
@FakatavaAllBlack is this a good thing though? Who's likely to replace these guys? Can they afford to be losing guys so young, pretty worrying for the Highlanders.
Probably about as chaotic as if the canes lost Booth.
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@HLD2023Champions That is why I mentioned his name... my feeling would be is that he ends up in Japan, and he has also spoken of a desire to return to Wellington. All that being said, it is certainly a possibility with him departing Lyon. His next step will surely be either New Zealand or Japan.
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With only a few players futures seemingly still in the balance, just did the old Instagram check on TUJ, and discovered he follows the Shizuoka Bluerevs. Now, I'm not making any claims here, but seems a little random that he would follow them if there wasn't something going on there. Maybe he was always going to the, 'Blues' all along (Just a different team in Japan lol).
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