Waikato 2024
-
Couple of (already known) departures from last season such as Rhys Marshall, Simon Parker and Josh Ioane but otherwise a pretty consistent squad.
Gabe Robinson is the only one to have not played a game of provincial rugby but he was involved with the squad last year (think he might have been injured).
Ayden Johnstone's continued selection as captain has really hampered Ollie Norris' development, in my mind.
-
@Bovidae said in Waikato 2024:
@Mr-Fish Yeah, Robinson was injured so never debuted. He was in the NZ U20s last year so like Mason Tupaea only young.
Johnstone is still only 27 but, I agree, hopefully Filipo shares their workload and both get starts.
Feels like Johnstone has been around forever. He's a good provincial player but I think Norris has the much higher ceiling and with Johnstone as captain, his minutes are always going to be restricted.
-
@Yeetyaah said in Waikato 2024:
Aaron Cruden is at Mooloo open day, wonder if he's lacing up again.
Player / Coach
-
So, given the tie-break if two teams are equal on competition points is who won the regular season fixture, Waikato could finish as high as fifth (possibly equal on points with BoP but they lost the H2H during the season) or as low as ninth depending on results over the weekend.
They'll likely finish fifth if they win against Canterbury this weekend (unless Hawke's Bay upsets Wellington), seventh if they lose but get a BP, and either eighth or ninth depending how big a wins Harbour and Counties get over Southland and Manawatu.
Could be close! Waikato will go into their match knowing exactly what they need to make the finals because Harbour and Counties play earlier on the Saturday.
-
@Bovidae said in Waikato 2024:
Wins should be the first tie-breaker but it isn't. CM can't overtake Waikato based on head-to-head but NH can.
If all three have the same number of points then I think it's possible that Waikato would come third of the trio but I not certain...
-
@Mr-Fish said in Waikato 2024:
If all three have the same number of points then I think it's possible that Waikato would come third of the trio but I not certain...
I had a closer look at the NPC Competition rules and regulations, and from what I could find there is a different tie-breaker for two teams finishing on the same points and three teams finishing on the same points.
Where three or more Premier Competition Unions are tied:
i. If all tied Premier Competition Unions have played each other the tied Premier Competition Union with the most competition points in that year against the other tied Premier Competition Unions shall have the higher position (or seeding).In this instance Waikato would be last of the three, as you say, as they didn't get a losing BP.
Where any two Premier Competition Unions are tied:
i. The winner of any Round Robin match played between the two Premier Competition Unions in that year will have the higher position (or seeding).Waikato, NH and CM all have a 1-1 record.
Simply put, Waikato need at least a BP against Canterbury to make the QFs.