Highlanders 2023
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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))
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@friedrugby people just straight up run past him, he looks like hes running in mud...all the time, and i cant remember the last time he actually broke a tackle or got over the advantage line
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2023:
@friedrugby people just straight up run past him, he looks like hes running in mud...all the time, and i cant remember the last time he actually broke a tackle or got over the advantage line
In the last couple of weeks he has been better. But the guy is just a plodder and not good enough. Wouldn't be good enough to make his top Ta$man 23.
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That was bloody ugly last night. So was the crowd. I would hate to think what the number of paying fans would have been. I think it was club day as well, so plenty of free tickets for the kids. But who would want to go and pay to watch those guys. I do hope they get a decent turnout of Aaron Smith's last game for the side. He deserves it. I just have no idea what they can do to fix this side quickly, without NZR stepping in and guiding players down there for a couple of years
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sometimes i wonder how much commentary effects how good we think the rugby is, i had to watch on mute and didn't actually think the quality was much worse than the rest of our season...although i see everyone commenting on how bad it was in the game thread
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2023:
sometimes i wonder how much commentary effects how good we think the rugby is, i had to watch on mute and didn't actually think the quality was much worse than the rest of our season...although i see everyone commenting on how bad it was in the game thread
Zero cohesion, rhythm, just looked like a team without coaches. After one phase it's a free for all.
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2023:
sometimes i wonder how much commentary effects how good we think the rugby is, i had to watch on mute and didn't actually think the quality was much worse than the rest of our season...although i see everyone commenting on how bad it was in the game thread
It's worth bearing in mind you were playing the Rebels, at home, without by far and away the Rebels most important player in Carter Gordon. Both teams were very poor.
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To add to my previous post, it's really disappointing as there's a handful of players that deserve so much better.
I'd really like to see what Ainsley, EdG, Dickson, Harmon, Renton, Smith, Gilbert could do on the back of good coaching, especially surrounded by the likes of MMT, Fakatava, TUJ, Lowe, CGB, Nareki.
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not saying it wasn't, just that it might be easier to forget about stuff, to just go with the flow and not scrutinise everything without the commentary
