Hurricanes v Highlanders
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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.
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For the Highlanders, I guess we really just go and have a crack. Nobody is going to be back from injury so probably go with a more or less unchanged side.
- de Groot
- Taylor (Be good to give him a start if Bell has a bit of a niggle)
- Ma'u
- Hicks
- Dunshea
- Haig
- Withy
- Harmon
- Fakatava
- Millar
- Nareki
- Gilbert
- Te Hiwi
- Tavatavanawai
- Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
- Bell
- Johnstone (Bulk up the scrum)
- Ainsley
- Holland (Slight rest)
- Broughton
- Arscott
- Faleafaga
- Garden-Bachop
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
@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.
Eh, kinda. Battling for 8th place in a 12 team comp is (almost certainly) delaying the inevitable. It's the mental weakness of the Crusaders bottling a bunch of games they should have won that has them scrapping that out ... and every other team gets nervous they may refind their mojo in the playoffs.
It's like a vampire. Not dead until the head is cut off, the stake is in the heart and they have turned to dust
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Don't expect to win. A close loss will be what I want to see. Look competitive. Show we are on the right track and hope to do a raid on the Brumbies the week after. A few clashes I'm keen to see though. De Groot v Lomax, things didn't go de Groot's way last time and he will be wanting a big game. Holland v Delaney. A good gauge on where both players are at in the pecking order. Haig v Shields. Similar players. Think the Sheilds style is similar to how Haig will end up. Haig is a bit bigger though. Fakatava v Perenara. Perenara should get a pack going forward. Which will give him a bit of an advantage. Good chance for Fakatava to show he should be in the conversation. Cameron v Millar. Two quite capable, yet very limited first fives. Cameron is probably the style of player Millar will be similar to down the line.
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@SouthernMann yeah, this has "bigger picture" written all over it, use it the gel the core squad ready for playoffs, if we get done by some next level acts of brilliance then fine, if we get beat because we didnt put our shoulders on or committed loads of handling errors then thats on us
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My feeling is that this game will be lost around the ruck with dominant carries and in the midfield. The Canes have five midfielders better than our best offering in 12 and 13 jerseys. While our locks and loosies will need to have big defensive games to protect ourselves around the fringes.
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@SouthernMann you can see it now cant you (because we've seen it before), pressure in midfield, scambling to defend...and it either breaks and theyre under the posts...or our wings get drawn in and we get beaten too the corner
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
Those with ? against their name are: Shields (quad), Aumua (knee), Iose (concussion), Love (knee), Lomax (unidentified), Delany (unidentified).
If I were the canes I’d rest all of the above if they aren’t quite 100%.
BUT, I’m not canes and I’m a highlanders supporter so I would also like them to rest all of the above😂
This game is on after the Drua vs Rebels so it’s most likely the teams will know what’s on the line/who possible opponents are the following week before kick off. Due to this there could be a couple last minute changes/pull outs, who knows but I wouldn’t be surprised
For the Highlanders, keep the same team out there as last weekend with potentially just adding Millar at 10 if that’s what the coaches would prefer. We just need to build on last week and carry a solid performance and some confidence into the quarter finals.
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@nzzp said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
@foobaNZ said in Hurricanes v Highlanders:
I think Blues will beat Chiefs, but not sure they will win by a 3 try margin.
Depends if we see Chiefs A or Chiefs B
No need to worry, the Chiefs are so bad they lost to the Crusaders.
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Based off of Dermody's comments on SENZ could be seeing a bit of rest/rotation this week - Millar also still a week away.
Could be something like:
- de Groot
- Taylor
- Ma'u
- Dunshea
- Tucker
- Hicks
- Harmon
- Broughton
- Arscott
- Faleafaga
- Nareki
- Gilbert
- Te Hiwi
- Tavatavanawai
- Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
- Bell/Jackson
- Johnstone
- Ainsley
- Stodart
- Michaels
- Hastie
- Whaanga
- Garden-Bachop
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By those mins in the Highlanders thread you'd think it would make sense to give Tavatavanawai a rest. Get him nice and fresh to stream roll the Brumbies (likely) next week.
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@Canes4life if anyone else suggested it i might have fallen for that!
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@Kiwiwomble worth a shot.
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