Highlanders 2024
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Harmon, who captained the team in 2023, will also be supported by midfield back, Sam Gilbert as Vice-Captain and a leadership group made up of Ethan de Groot, Sean Withy, Jona Nareki, and newcomer Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.JRK straight into the leadership group
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@frugby said in Highlanders 2024:
The long-term loose trio will probably be Haig, Withy and Stodart.
Agree... and I think it could quite easily be our best ever
I think it has the potential to be a long-term loosie trio and for them to really grow together. I think we are coming into a bit of a golden era of local loosies. These guys, Michaels, Holland V2, Rutledge, the Southland boys no8, Ratcliffe, Broughton... There are quite a few guys who could (and it is could) step up. Not all of them will be world beaters, but they should be lads worth considering.
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@nostrildamus said in Highlanders 2024:
@frugby said in Highlanders 2024:
Harmon, who though is very good, and is on the cusp of the ABs, has his limitations. Withy is like a young Sam Cane.
Mind listing those limitations for me? Not arguing, just interested.
Probably lacks a bit of size... certainly not as good a ball carrier as Cane, Savea and Papalii.
Of course, when I say limitations, I really just mean compared to the current ABs.
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@frugby does Tele'a have the distribution game to be a centre? I thought of him more as a blockbusting 12 type player but haven't really seen him play for while.
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@Canes4life if im honest im not sure we'll be playing a style complicated enough for that to be an issue.
Gilbert is going to be playing a semi second playmaker (former 15 / 10) so if it gets past 12 we'll be looking to break the line
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@Kiwiwomble looking at that side it looks a definite improvement from last year.
I would almost have M Whaanga at centre, every time I've seen him play live (pre season last year for the Canes / Ranfurly Shield game against Wellington) he's looked bloody class. Kind of reminds me of a Shaun Treeby type player who has the smarts to make a decent impact at Super level, but unlike Treeby he also has the right amount of size to break teams open, just needs more opportunity. I'm suprised he hasn't cracked a Super side until now tbh.
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2024:
does Tele'a have the distribution game to be a centre? I thought of him more as a blockbusting 12 type player but haven't really seen him play for while.
Passing has been inaccurate.. he's generally been a run straight and hard guy
He's been injured so often that he's never had a good run of games. Maybe he'll show more if he can stay healthy for a while
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@Canes4life Matt has never really caught my eye, happy enough to have him around but honestly always felt he had "journeyman" written all over him
Josh on the other had has looked very impressive
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@Kiwiwomble I can only go on his play from the both times I've seen him live and he seemed like a tidy player. Definitely had a sound skill set and was very astute at putting others into space. In the Canes vs Crusaders pre-season game last year I remember he broke the line a couple times and then scored / setup a try aswell. I reckon he would go better at centre than Tele'a because of his distribution game alone.
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Matt Whaanga is a fine depth player. Will Tele'a be more than that. Who knows. He will get the first shot though.
Josh Whaanga looks to be a goer. He is already just under 100kg, and looks quite lean. Could easily be a 108kg - 110kg centre. Just hope he isn't too much of a lumbering centre. Needs some pace.
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@SouthernMann yeah, thats how i felt
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Irish Paul said on X that Jack Taylor did a 4.35 Bronco. Pretty sharp for a frontrower
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@frugby said in Highlanders 2024:
Probably lacks a bit of size... certainly not as good a ball carrier as Cane, Savea and Papalii.
Huh, go figure. Whenever I've watched him he's one of the best ball carriers in the team. To say he's not as good as Cane is laughable. He's ten times better.
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@Bones if someone like Kirifi can make an ABs camp, so can Harmon. Harmon is better and he's bigger in my view. Harmon is a guy that wouldn't let the AB jersey down, and if we're comparing him to the likes of Cane, he probably wouldn't get carded in a Super final and a WC final in the same year.
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ive said this before i think, Harmon is in the same group of players as people like Ash Dixon, i think if they had got their shot at the Black Jersey they wouldnt have let it down, worst case i think they would have a solid game...and there is a chance they wold have really kicked on
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Harmon's weakness isn't his running game. He is regularly used as a midfield target, runs direct lines off short balls and is probably the primary loosie when running set plays on attack. He may not be a distributing loosie, or could lack a bit of ball security. But, his running game, I'd say is a big strength. I think he played most of the NPC at eight for Canterbury as well.
ODT ran an article about Tom Sanders' suspension as well. He received a post game two match suspension in the last game of the season. SANZAR won't let him serve it in pre-season, but also won't let him play pre-season. So ends up being a five game ban. For a two game suspension.
Good to see the ODT run the hooker story I was keen on too.
Competition hots up for No 2 jersey
Three into one for No 2 will not go. Two final weeks of auditioning for the most contestable jersey in the Highlanders will begin with the...
Competition hots up for No 2 jersey
Three into one for No 2 will not go.
Two final weeks of auditioning for the most contestable jersey in the Highlanders will begin with the preseason game against the Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow.
The strongest Highlanders XV is starting to become reasonably clear.
Ethan de Groot and Jermaine Ainsley are an excellent propping combination, Pari Pari Parkinson and Fabian Holland will anchor the second row, and captain Billy Harmon will be joined by Sean Withy and Hugh Renton in the loose forward trio.
Folau Fakatava and Rhys Patchell will be the starting 9-10, Sam Gilbert will get a full season at second five alongside a rotating cast of centres, and the best back three will be Jona Nareki alongside newcomers Timoci Tavatavanawai and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.
That leaves hooker — and it appears to be wide open.
Highlanders coach Clarke Dermody made the bold decision to wipe the slate clean, and experienced but moderately performing rakes Andrew Makalio, Rhys Marshall and Leni Apisai have all departed.
Ricky Jackson
Ricky Jackson
In come Ricky Jackson, the veteran at 25 with a handful of appearances for the Crusaders under his belt, Otago rookie Henry Bell and Southland tyro Jack Taylor.
There is no clear-cut leader in the race for the No 2 jersey, and the trio will all be watched closely over the next couple of weeks to see who wants it most."They all have been challenging each other, right from day one of preseason," Dermody said.
"They’ve been pushing really hard.
"It’s nice to see them working on their game together. They throw every day together, and I think they understand that spot is going to be hotly contested.
Bell, whose younger brother George has turned heads at the Crusaders, has moved quickly up the ranks since impressing for Otago in 2022.
He followed an NPC campaign with an unexpected season in Major League Rugby, and is now living the dream — he grew up in East Otago
and attended John McGlashan College, so wearing a Highlanders jersey has long been a goal."I remember Carisbrook, as a nipper, going there with the old man to plenty of games," Bell said.
"I loved the Highlanders. I had the Highlanders kit. I’ve been a fan my whole life, and my family are from the region as well.
"I’m loving it. It’s been a cool preseason, my first one in the Super Rugby environment, so it’s been awesome.
"The coaching staff have got a pretty good vibe going on."
Bell is up for the challenge of competing with the two other newbies to play hooker for the Highlanders.
"I think we’ve got a pretty cool opportunity.
"We’re all quite young, and get along quite well, and we’ve actually played a bit of footy together.
"We’re all vying for that No 1 spot but I think we’ve got a good relationship where we can push each other . . . and be constructive with it."
Bell has beefed up to about 108kg while staying keenly aware of the need to retain his mobility around the field.
Jack Taylor
Jack Taylor
Lineout throwing, of course, is the trade’s bread and butter, and he and brother George do plenty of extra-curricular work in classic heartland fashion at the family farm on the Pigroot in the offseason.
"Me and the bro have got a bit of a set-up at home."It’s a big net hung up off the side of the house, and we’ve got an electric fence standard poking out and then a bit of binding twine attached to a dog bowl.
"The bowl has sort of been flattened, so it makes a ‘ting’ when you hit it.
"Normally, whoever wins doesn’t do the dishes, so there’s a bit on it."
American rugby is enduring some growing pains — two Major League teams have just folded — but Bell does not regret his spell with the Utah Warriors.
"I got out of my comfort zone after doing high school and University in Dunedin, and I was able to just throw and scrum under pressure and develop a lot with time in the saddle."
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@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2024:
Irish Paul said on X that Jack Taylor did a 4.35 Bronco. Pretty sharp for a frontrower
That is bullshit quick for a fatty. Which helps us understand that the laws and adjudication of the game haven't kept up with the game.
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