Highlanders 2023
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One of the problems the Highlanders have is that many of those young Otago players mentioned are actually from Southland so you are just redistributing talent from within the region, not attracting new talent. Obviously there are exceptions like Faleafaga and Asi, and a few others from the NI that have/are playing for the U20s.
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@Bovidae said in Highlanders 2023:
One of the problems the Highlanders have is that many of those young Otago players mentioned are actually from Southland so you are just redistributing talent from within the region, not attracting new talent. Obviously there are exceptions like Faleafaga and Asi, and a few others from the NI that have/are playing for the U20s.
Southland are understanding of that though. I just hope that both the provinces work together to ensure the best 50 players are playing provincial rugby. Not Otago having the best 45 and Southland struggling to get by. We are seeing this with Hayden Michaels and Jack Taylor, both from Southland, living in Dunedin and returning to play for Southland. I hope if the likes of some of the other better players from down there get stuck in the Otago logjam they are given the opportunity go back to Southland.
Broadly speaking, I don't think it matters where in the catchment the players are from. The key point is harnessing them and not losing them to elsewhere. Especially if good young talent from other parts of the country would rather play club rugby at home than play Super Rugby for the Highlanders.
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The way i see it, you have three main types of player
superstar - doesnt really matter the team he plays in, will regularly perform ie Smith
Local player - (otago, southland) may be a super start but if not then can rely a bit on having the same guys around him, greater than the sum kind of deal
cast off - someone not wanted by a team closer to home. problem with these guys if theyre not a super star (theyre probably not of they would be picked up by someone closer to home)...then they cant even fall back on playing with the same guys ie gregory, paeawe need to learn when signing squad fillers....we might just be better playing some young local talent
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also, credit where credit is due, that performance from burns is more what i was hoping to see, mixed kicking for territory with distribution well, the D was never 100% what he was going to do and so never fully committed which gave the back just a tiny bit more space
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@Kiwiwomble I think there's a fourth type of player: solid, dependable players who may not be superstarts but are also not (non-local) cast-offs. They are good to have in your squad. There are plenty of those in the Highlanders squad.
I'm convinced the main problem is the Highlanders' coaching. Better coaches would probably get more out of this squad than the current lot, even without many superstars. Obviously, they wouldn't be able to change the Landers into a champions team with this squad, but they'd get the Landers in the finals spots (middle of the table).
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i dont know about "plenty", i honestly dont know how maybe we have that would be playing for other super teams
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@Stargazer said in Highlanders 2023:
@Kiwiwomble I think there's a fourth type of player: solid, dependable players who may not be superstarts but are also not (non-local) cast-offs. They are good to have in your squad. There are plenty of those in the Highlanders squad.
You mean players of the likes of Richard Buckman? Spotted him at Whitmore Park on Saturday with family, but without his rugby boots. There is certainly not an ounce of fat on him and would qualify for the All Blacks Under 85kgs team when they get round to establishing one!
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I think the fourth player group is originally non-local youth developed. The young player we won the race for. The Fabian Holland, Faleafaga type player
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@SouthernMann when i said Local i didn;t mean born and bread, but people that play for otago or southland
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@SouthernMann I meant players like Fakatava, Renton, MMT, Makalio, Harmon, TU-J, Lowe, Garden-Bachop, Parkinson, Gilbert and Frizell. When they are in form, they're good (some great) players.
I really have the idea that the coaching staff doesn't get the best out of these players.
You also have to question what public comments by the Highlanders CEO (or whoever it was) about the squad do to players, mentally. If you read in the media that your CEO thinks his own players are average (or something in that vein), would that motivate players to play to their best ability?
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@Stargazer I do question our attacking methods, but since Burns has slotted it in, it has all but fixed up. I personally think the main issue is a lack of pace across the backline, which means we concede tries by just being too slow... look at the tries the Chiefs scored, and that one scored by Toole for example. Barring Nareki, we have nobody who can do it, and crucially nobody who can defend it.
I think CGB has been fine at 15, and I actually prefer him there to 14, but no way does that try happen with B Smith at fullback. It is the small things in a game...
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@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
@Stargazer I do question our attacking methods, but since Burns has slotted it in, it has all but fixed up. I personally think the main issue is a lack of pace across the backline, which means we concede tries by just being too slow... look at the tries the Chiefs scored, and that one scored by Toole for example. Barring Nareki, we have nobody who can do it, and crucially nobody who can defend it.
I think CGB has been fine at 15, and I actually prefer him there to 14, but no way does that try happen with B Smith at fullback. It is the small things in a game...
You're probably a lot more over the form of some of the younger players. The Highlanders seem pretty confident around Jake Te Hiwi as a centre going forward. Do you think he has the pace and ability to be a quality Super Rugby 13?
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Dillon and Whiffin are where many of the problems lie, the defense and attacking structures are a real downgrade from last season where Tony Brown and Shane Christie were the attack and defense coaches respectively. I was not a fan of Whiffin or Dillon's appointments at the end of last year, even more so now.
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@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2023:
@friedrugby said in Highlanders 2023:
@Stargazer I do question our attacking methods, but since Burns has slotted it in, it has all but fixed up. I personally think the main issue is a lack of pace across the backline, which means we concede tries by just being too slow... look at the tries the Chiefs scored, and that one scored by Toole for example. Barring Nareki, we have nobody who can do it, and crucially nobody who can defend it.
I think CGB has been fine at 15, and I actually prefer him there to 14, but no way does that try happen with B Smith at fullback. It is the small things in a game...
You're probably a lot more over the form of some of the younger players. The Highlanders seem pretty confident around Jake Te Hiwi as a centre going forward. Do you think he has the pace and ability to be a quality Super Rugby 13?
Not really no, early evidence seems to suggest he is another player not blessed with pace and is always injured... feels like a best-case version of him is a slight improvement on Michael Collins? But we can only hope! If I was a betting man, I'd be putting my money on the Landers going hard for Levi Aumua, and maybe even Tavatavanawai. Dermody has worked with both at Ta$man, and they'd certainly be upgrades on what we currently have.
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@kiwi_expat said in Highlanders 2023:
Dillon and Whiffin are where many of the problems lie, the defence and attacking structures are a real downgrade from last season where Tony Brown and Shane Christie were the attack and defense coaches respectively. I was not a fan of Whiffin or Dillon's appointments at the end of last year, even more so now.
Whiffin I'll agree with, though in fairness I do think he was handicapped by, a) Burns being injured which essentially meant we had to play Hunt, and b) A lack of quality in general. Look at the majority of the tries the Chiefs and Blues score (especially against us). Often down to individual brilliance from outstanding players. Could we attack the gap more, I think so, but at the same time, he can't turn Hunt into McKenzie, he can't make Mosese Dawai turn into Jonah Lomu, he can't make all of our players catch the ball, have electric pace etc.
That said, keen to see what Kenny Lynn gets up to.
On Dillon, think that is a really harsh call based on the pure number of points conceded. Loads of the tries we concede are simply because of a lack of pace, meaning we can't defend once someone makes a clean break. Not sure really what a coach can do about it. Our set defence, making one on one tackles, and attacking the breakdown has actually been quite good.
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Some updates on the lock injuries in a paywalled article in the ODT
Dickson still going through the head knock protocols. Unlikely to be available this week.
Tucker, Hicks and Parkinson are all back. Parkinson lost a lot weight with the virus he had, so it sounds like they'll monitor him throughout this week
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id rather see Gilbert at 13 than paea....and i hate playing people out of position
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@Kiwiwomble People continue to slate Fetuli Paea, but really not sure he has been that bad... think it is more likely we CGB in 14, which never works, but ho hum.
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By my calculations, this is what the Highlanders need to make the quarters:
Win All Three Games
OR
Need Two Wins + 1 BP More than the Reds, and the Reds don’t win another game (BLU (H), HIG (A), DRU (A))
OR
Need Two Wins + Drua Only Win Maximum One More Game (WAR (A), MP (H), RED (H))
AND
Western Force Win Maximum One More Game (BRU (H), REB (A), CHI (H))
