Hurricanes v Highlanders
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So with top spot still on the cards for the Canes I think we need to play our best team against the Landers. I watched the Chiefs game again and couldn't see what injury Delany picked up around the 60 min mark, hope taking him off was just precautionary.
Lomax is likely to come back into the mix next week and I hear Aumua is close to selection. Not too sure about Shields and Kirifi. Would be great to get those guys some mins before we hit the playoffs. If we can solidify home advantage and have a full squad to pick from (other than Roigard) I think we've got every chance to go all the way.
There will be some eagerness to rest Numia and Lakai because of their workloads lately so they might be given a spell, Love may also take a seat this week to rest his knee. Otherwise I expect Laidlaw to pick our strongest squad.
The team likely for the Landers based on the above would probably look like the below.
- Rakete-Stones
- O'Reilly
- Tosi
- Sangster
- Walker-Leawere
- Flanders
- Kirifi
- Iose
- Perenara
- Cameron
- Naholo
- Barrett
- Proctor
- Moorby
- Godfrey (if Love is ruled out)
- Aumua (bring him back via the bench if fit)
- Mafileo
- Lomax (bring him back via the bench if fit)
- Delany (bring him back via the bench if fit)
- Shields
- Judd
- Sullivan
- Rayasi
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
Otherwise I expect Laidlaw to pick our strongest squad.
They will have three must win games after this one.
I would let Lomax, Delany & Aumua rest another week, Also, look at giving Barrett another week off (or in the reserves) with Higgins getting another start
Also, we could also rest others too when a good alternative is available
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@Winger do you want players going cold into a playoff game though. It will be interesting to see what Laidlaw does. Getting it right is key.
Also Iose was concussed on Friday so he may also take a seat for a week. Surprised no one picked it up but he was dazed for a few mins after going down.
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@Canes4life said that live to my mates. Immediately after he didn't dive on a loose ball, and Sititi ran straight through him for their try. Obviously wasn't 100.
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I think we need to go top 15.
A bonus point is important, and the Highlanders are playing well, so if we don't go top team we're likely to lose, or only sneak a win.
I think Blues will beat Chiefs, but not sure they will win by a 3 try margin.
So if we get a BP win, and Blues win without one, we're top.
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@foobaNZ yeah you're right, I mean if we go top team against the Highlanders we could almost rest Numia and Lakai if we end up getting the Rebels in a quarter. Just don't think we would do that for a playoff though.
The other option is to start our best team and then see how we are tracking. If we a winning by plenty on Saturday then bring on the subs.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
@Winger do you want players going cold into a playoff game though. It will be interesting to see what Laidlaw does. Getting it right is key.
Also Iose was concussed on Friday so he may also take a seat for a week. Surprised no one picked it up but he was dazed for a few mins after going down.
My view is the aim for the next game is
Win. Totally forget about any bonus point.
But also, considering having fired up (not tired) key players for the final three weeksBarrett made 3 really silly passes vs the Chiefs. They could have cost us the game. He looks like he need a rest
Under no circumstances should we bring injured players back unless 100%. Esp AumuaWE will likely have an easier game in the quarter too as another consideration
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
@foobaNZ yeah you're right, I mean if we go top team against the Highlanders we could almost rest Numia and Lakai if we end up getting the Rebels in a quarter. Just don't think we would do that for a playoff though.
The other option is to start our best team and then see how we are tracking. If we a winning by plenty on Saturday then bring on the subs.
I agree with option B. Respect the Highlanders enough to start a strong team, then hope to put the bench on as soon as possible
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Loving the throwback jerseys
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@Canes4life good to see a lot of the boys with the actual OG ones.
I bought a 97 a year or 2 ago, for about $230
The "new" remake ones are nice, but the yellow is off in my opinion. Doesn't match the original.
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i think a few of those "original" ones might be knock off remakes i use to see all over the socials, no "Temex", too clean/bright etc
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Tricky spot for the canes to be in with resting players or playing players etc like you have all touched on above. I think if I was in the position you guys are in, if any players had a questionable to play status I’d have them sit out this week depending on how serious the said niggle is, you have fairly solid depth in a lot of positions.
On the other hand you don’t want to take the Highlanders lightly as we know what they are capable of so I think you’re better off resting 2 or 3 players instead of 5 or 6 players. We’ve all seen what the Highlanders can do when they are counted out.
I think this is going to set up for quite a nice game. I’m not expecting a win but I’ll be glad to get a bonus point out of this and hopefully hold on to 6th spot. If we finish 7th, we might end up having the Canes in Wellington in back to back weeks.
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@Landers92 yeah without knowing the full status of a good chunk of players it will be interesting to see what kind of team is announced on Wednesday afternoon.
No point risking anyone if they have slight niggles. For example, if Love is still nursing a sore knee then we need to rest him. We have Godfrey who's waiting in the wings so he can start and we wouldn't lose too much IMO.
It would be great to rest Numia, Sangster, Lakai and Tosi noting they have had massive workloads lately but that will only happen if the guys with ? are cleared fit.
Those with ? against their name are: Shields (quad), Aumua (knee), Iose (concussion), Love (knee), Lomax (unidentified), Delany (unidentified).
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im assuming we'll run out our strongest team, assuming no injuries then probably same again as the weekend, we should be pretty settled but i think we'll go with momentum, keep building confidence
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@Kiwiwomble I think that's probably the right move for the Highlanders. They are almost guaranteed 6th spot but that could obviously change if the Rebels upset the Drua.
There will be some temptation to also rest players that have played big mins though. Like the Canes, it's getting that balance right, you want to keep momentum but you want to keep guys fresh for those three playoff games (if you win them all obviously).
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@Winger said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
look at giving Barrett another week off
I don't agree with this, he only just had a week off against Moana Pasifika last week. I think Barrett needs the opposite actually, he needs to keep refining his combination with Cameron and Proctor, he's the sort of player that the more he plays the better he gets.
He's good to play the rest of the season IMO.
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Plenty of bizarre permutations, a lot of which will be known at kickoff. Every chance that the Highlanders reward for a win is that they have to play the Canes again next week (3v6)... likewise, a bonus point win for the Canes could mean they are hosting the Crusaders, who'll be coming in on a roll (1v8)... IMO, the Drua get the job done, so there will be actual reward for finishing in the top two, but there could be a bizarre situation, where the Canes are better off getting a win without a bonus point to wrap us 2nd to secure a game against the Rebels...
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@frugby a lot rides on that Rebels vs Drua game. Who knew that would be the most important match this round when the schedule was drawn up last year.
