The Silver Fern

@taniwharugby said in Northland v Ta$man:

@kev nope

I'll join the humble pie club. Seems to be a trend every time I spout pessimistic glass half empty rants it comes back to bite me..maybe I should do it more often.

Outstanding performance by Northland last night, one of the most complete performances I have seen for some time. To beat a very strong Ta$man side emphatically like that just shows what we can do to any side on our day. The key now is to back it up, as we usually have a tendency to crash and burn a week later. I will be expecting nothing less than a handsome victory against Manawatu next weekend.

How good is Heremaia Murray? Hopefully he elevates himself to a Super Rugby main squad contract next year, if he continues with this form he'll definitely deserve it.

Good to see Coree Te Whata-Colley back, the scrum totally dominated with his presence. Also nice to see one of my Far North boys Hayden Jurlina get his debut, he's proof you don't have to be playing in the Whangarei club competition to crack it.

Also, what a fitting birthday present for the great man Super Sid Going!

Went along to this today. 43-17 to Harbour. Harbour came out of the blocks firing after conceding the first try to Blake Hohaia. They were up by nearly 30 at the break.

There were no team lists avaible which was poor, so excuse me if I get names etc wrong. This was coupled with the fact Northland played in what looked like training shirts, half of which weren’t numbered.

Northland dominated the second half but never really looked like overhauling Harbours lead at any point.

One thing to note is that all Northland’s super players were rested and Harbour had the likes of Gatland and that Blues back up hooker (forget his name) on deck amongst some other familiar faces.

What really stood out from Northlands perspective was how they got burnt out on the edges time and time again. The back three of Leilua, Hyland and Macilai got turned around by some clever Harbour kicking and were made to look like they had concrete in their boots.

Leilua was caught out of position on several occasions and the wingers were forced infield a lot which created overlaps.

Up front the forwards competed well enough and held their own in the set piece. Was impressed with Hallam-Eames, he’s a monster and got through 80 mins.

A few of our replacements came on and made a difference, particularly Jordan Olsen, he was into everything.

A couple of our big loosies (apologies I don’t know their names, maybe Funaki and Manu) made good yards with the ball in hand too.

Will Grant at 9 is a gutsy little bugger and took some big contact. Was quite impressed with Kerikeris Corey Taylor when he came on, his service was very good. Could be a toss up to see who backs Nock up this year.

All up, hard to judge things on today, we’ve got heaps of firepower to come back so things could change.

One thing we need to work on is the back play. It’s crucial we get things right out in the back three especially as I can see that’s where we will be targeted.

I’m hoping to see a better showing with a stronger lineup against Auckland next week.

Auckland B beat Northland B 40-5.

Couple of late changes just announced for Auckland. Blake Gibson and Harry Plummer out. Choat and Deangelo Someone-a-rather into the starting lineup.

2022 Northland Player Ratings

Thought I’d do a bit of a blurb as I used to do in the past with regards to ratings. These are my opinions only and don’t expect everyone to agree with them. Some players didn’t feature enough to gain a rating but I’ve included them anyway.

Ratings are out of 10.

PROPS

Jared Adams - 7: impressed with this pick up in the off-season. He is a good ball runner and shows a surprising turn of speed. Held his own in set piece but perhaps not as strong as some of our others there.

Elise Fono - 5: definitely in the development phase still, but you can tell he’s going to be good as he gets older and stronger. Would have learnt a lot rubbing shoulders with guys like Ofa Tuungafasi. Got dusted in scrums, but as mentioned he will only get better.

Conan O’Donnell - 4: showed some vigour against Southland with ball in hand but did not really push on as I thought he might. Set piece a problem.

Sila Puafisi - 7: I liked this guy. His scrummaging was very powerful and never let the team down. Not sure about fitness levels, but man is he strong. Hopefully we can keep him on deck for another year at least.

Coree Te Whata-Colley - 6: only let down is fitness, but he ticks every other box. If He can work hard in the off season he will go places. Love his aggressiveness, doesn’t back down to anyone.

Ofa Tuungafasi - 9: Had four outings and did not ease off the accelerator at all as some All Blacks do when returning to provincial duties. Just having him there lifted others too and you could see it. Ironically all games he was involved in were victories plus the fiery scrapping performance in the quarter final loss to Canterbury.

HOOKERS

Bruce Kauika-Petersen - 5: Looked the goods in the early rounds but fell away a bit towards the end. His lineout throwing was his main downfall. I do like him however, and if he can polish those weaknesses he will be good value in years to come.

Matt Moulds - 7: such a good leader and superb around the field. Lineout throwing has always been an issue hence his rating being a bit lower than it should have been. Hopefully we see him next year.

Ross Wright - 5: the centurion showed up for another round of NPC footy and covered prop and hooker as he’s done a lot of the years. Didn’t really standout too much and fitness looks as though it’s slid. Put in a decent showing in the quarter final which was likely his last game.

LOCKS

Sam Caird - 5: spent over half the season on the injury list so didn’t really get to show his wears. The guy is a a class player at this level, and showed that in glimpses, but he obviously wasn’t 100% this year and that reflected on occasion.

Allen Craig - 6: Developing into a really good player. We’ve got to remember he is only very young and as the years go by we will no doubt see him climb the ranks. I like the cut of his jib and see him as a mainstay in our pack in years to come.

Josh Goodhue - 7: Was hanging by all sorts of threads all season long but kept throwing himself about. Has developed into a class senior member of the team and a real reliable weapon when things get tough. Sad to see him leaving for Japan, but I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him in Cambridge Blue.

Liam Hallam-Eames - 7: absolute toiler and aggressive to boot. I like this guy. He’s no thrills and you won’t see him in the flash stuff, but he does his job and does it well. Hopefully he gets rewarded with a Super contract. Got to be on the must sign again list.

LOOSE FORWARDS

Matt Matich - 8: how good to see him back after getting some raw deals with selections in the past. Has shown his leadership value as well, and with Tom Robinsons continuing injury woes I’d like to see him perhaps get rewarded with captaincy on a permanent basis. Never stops trying and will be in the thick of it for 80 minutes.

Jaycob Matiu - 5: probably didn’t see him as much as predicted this year, but that’s testament to good healthy competition in the loose trio. We all know he’s a bruising runner and showed that on occasion this year.

Jonah Mau’u - 7: pretty much made the 7 jersey his own and put in some massive efforts. He’s definitely a player that with a bit of fine tuning will become a high value addition to any squad. Would love to see him work on his jackling over the ball more as he’s the perfect build for it.

Sam McNamara - 6: always gives 100%. Not a flashy type player, but very dependable. Had a few injury concerns this year and featured a bit more sparingly than he has in the past.

Tom Robinson - No rating: only featured twice by my count against Waikato and Auckland. Created the crucial turnover which killed off Auckland but you could tell he wasn’t running on all cylinders. Head knocks are very concerning for him moving forward.

Rob Rush - 9: my player of the year. How good was he! I was concerned when Tom Robinson didn’t feature but Rush stepped in and really stole the show. The aggressiveness and fitness of this guy is outstanding and we are sure to see big things from him in the future.

HALFBACKS

Trent Hape - no rating: got a small cameo against BOP and didn’t disappoint. Not sure of the his plans moving forward, but I’m sure he’ll get more of an opportunity next year.

Lisati Milo-Harris - 7: really stood out in his earlier outings and actually outshone Sam Nock, came back to the pack a bit towards the end of the season but still looks classy. Hopefully he shows up again next year as he has potential to be the number one halfback.

Sam Nock - 5: wasn’t his best year by his standards. Had a few shockers in particular against North Harbour where he had three box kicks charged down which lead either directly of indirectly to tries. Turned it on against Canterbury in the quarter in what was his best showing. Still frustrates with the occasional slow service and bad decisions. We all know he’s way better than he’s been showing!

FIRST FIVES

Johnny Cooper - no rating: only featured twice by my reckoning and didn’t show out at all. Had a lot of early promise when he arrived back in Northland, but hasn’t kicked on.

Dan Hawkins - 6: I’ll put my hand up and say I’ve given Dan a lot of crap over the years, but what we saw this year was way better. I like his role off the bench and he seems to have matured into a bit of a leader as well. Was involved in some clutch moments this year with his kicking. Would not be adverse seeing him go another round in 2023.

Rivez Reihana - 8: Had a way more settled year this year as he wasn’t mucked around between fullback and first five like last year. Has really grown into the role of backline general. Has a good kicking game, but the most impressive part for me is his ability to run the at the line and his defence. He is not a 10 the forwards have to protect!

MIDFIELD

Kalani Going - no rating: hardly featured and got one start against BOP where he was very solid. Good straight hard runner who makes good decisions. Copped a raw deal from the coaches this year. I really hope he sticks around as he will get more opportunities under a new coaching team.

Jack Goodhue - no rating: only featured in two games (Waikato and Wellington). Showed his usual class in both, however would have kicked himself for spilling a pass against Waikato which likely would have lead to a match winning try. Defensive organisation was very valuable against Wellington.

Blake Hohaia - 3: Not going to be too rough here, as I and others have done that enough throughout the season. Not sure what he’s done to continually get selected, had some absolute howlers throughout the year which culminated in his reckless mid air tackle in the quarter final. Either he has a miraculous turnaround in form or he’s not selected at all next year. Had some good touches against Southland but that’s about it.

Rene Ranger - 5: probably the last rodeo for Ranger this year. Definitely showed his age on several occasions and was often guilty of taking wrong options. Had glimpses of his old self though and that was evident against Canterbury in the quarter with some good turnovers. What a servant he’s been though and will be forever one of our greats.

Tamati Tua - 8: my standout back this year. Has really worked hard on his game and become one of our premier players. Strong in the tackle and makes good decisions. I understand he’s off to the Brumbies but sure hope he’s still available for Northland as well.

OUTSIDE BACKS

Pisi Leilua - 3: not a smart player. Has the physical attributes but makes some shocking decisions. Often wanting on defence and seems to have no spacial awareness. If for some reason he can identify his weaknesses he could turn it around, but not likely form all evidence so far.

Jone Macilai - 8: How good has Jone been this year. He’s like a fine wine who keeps getting better. He’s gone from a thin wiry speedster to a power winger over the years. Often defies physics with his busts down the wing. I really hope we can squeeze few more seasons from him. Would not go astray in a super team again either.

Josh Moorby - 7: a very good signing for Northland. Started the season very strong and showed his obvious class. Very good positioning at the back and a good tactical kicker. Faded a bit after he came back from injury but still very solid. I understand other unions are chasing him and it would be a travesty if Northland don’t get his signature for another two seasons at least. Would be quite rank of him to disappear after one season anyway.

Heremaia Murray - 8: outstanding season and up there with one of my players of the season alongside Tua and Rush. Strong, fast and smart, all the attributes you can hope for. Would be equally adept at centre. No surprise that he’s courting interest from Super teams, in particular the Crusaders.

So there it is.. feel free to shoot down or boost up the ratings as you wish!

Moving forward to next year I hope we have a good development plan and set the KPIs even higher for both coaches and players. We can really become one of NZs strongest unions with some fine tuning. My expectations next year would be to go even higher again!

Harsh article.. but true nonetheless. At least it's a captivating read, rather than the usual boring dross from other media outlets.

So glad we went down there and did the business. Stoked with how ruthless we were. The foot never came off the throat despite a reasonably high error count. Can only imagine what the score would have been if we'd cut those errors. 60-70 maybe??

Pretty hard to pick men of the match, but to me Ranger and Jack Goodhue were outstanding. In fact that whole backline really stood up. How much has Jordan Hyland taken strides since he's been part of our set-up?? He's not the quickest dude, but he's a clever footy player and uses his size well... It's odd to think he sometimes can't even make the match day 23.

Phil Kite and Ross Wright seamlessly slotted into the front row as well. Loving this depth!!

Gotta feel a bit for the old banjo pickers down south, it seems as though it'll be a long season for them, but hey, we've been there, so time to have a bit of sun on our backs for once.

On to Waikato now, we'll be brimming with confidence. Hope the injuries are minimal however. More ruthless attitudes next week fellas!!! We got this.

Wow, where was that performance all year? Bloody stoked to finish on a good note.

The one glaring thing for me was that game just showed why we should have had Gregory at 13 all season. His work on D really impressed me the most. Otago tried their hardest to gas the outside channels, but Gregory plugged it up with his pace. Gutted we wasted so much time with Johnson there.

The forwards were all on the same sheet today, was particularly impressed with Olsen, Temo and Byrne. I like the look of the new Fijian flanker too, hopefully we sign him up for next year.

Hopefully that was a little glimpse of what our whole season might be like for our centenary year next year.

Fingers crossed everyone is fit and healthy for 2020 so we can have a better campaign with our best available players!

@taniwharugby this whole thing stinks like a fat pile of shit. How on earth do we let one of our stars go after building what’s verging on one of the more successful Northland sides in a long time?? Beats me.

I hope the coaches know what they are doing here.

This is the game we want to nail, as it’s a tough road after this one.

@taniwharugby I heard Ranger wasn’t too good. Good news on Robinson though.

Would like to see Wiseguy get a decent crack tomorrow, as I think he should be ahead of Hawkins. I understand the guy had a few off field issues, but seriously, how many pro footy players are in the same boat these days? I’m all about redemption on the paddock.

In reflection to go 90 minutes in Invercargill - the asshole of NZ, and still not lose isn't overly bad. That was Southlands for the taking IMO.

Some big shifts from the fatties have to be recognised. We did a number of things to lose that game, but hung in there. Respect from my end.

@Gunner is it arrogance or plain dumbness as to why these former Northland players are getting turned away?

I was shocked when Windleborn got the nod over Tony Monaghan. Ironically the Northland 7’s crashed to their worst finish in some time last season. Go figure.

NRU need to pull their heads out of their backsides and plan properly and wisely.

@taniwharugby it’s like we thought we were kings of the castle after the Auckland game and pretty much turned the lights out and went to the beach. Typical laid back Northland attitude. Such a frustrating team to follow.

@Dice said in Auckland Rugby 2019:

@African-Monkey said in Auckland Rugby 2019:

@nzzp And if the ball gets past D'Angelo Leuila.

This has been one of most frustrating things the last two weeks. Leuila and Ruru need to understand the talent they have outside them.

Leuila looked a million bucks against us, what happened?

Oh hang on, it was against us..yep, we make a lot of average players look the goods.

Congrats Canterbury. Hats off to a very good second half from us. Made them sweat. Bring on 2023, lots to be positive about.

I will by no means get carried away with that result today, as there's still a long way to go, but from what I witnessed I must say Northland look way better than we have in the past two years.

The thing that stood out for me was our set piece has improved tenfold. the lineouts worked like clockwork, and the scrum was dominant. Harbour had an absolute nightmare with our pack today, we were far more organised and aggressive.

Was really impressed with the communication as well, everyone was in unison and had a good understanding of what each other was doing.

Yep it was pre-season, and yep both sides were trying new things, but if Northland keep building from this performance I think it will be a pretty successful season.

Our first two tries were well worked from the forwards, it was a pick and go attack for the first one, with some good work close to the line, and the second was very similar. from there the backs had there turn with some well worked moves along the chain which culminated in meat pies!

Individually I had several stand-outs. Josh Goodhue was my man of the match, the guy played the whole 80 and was still running at full steam at the end. His defence was top notch and he was a sharp shooter in the lineout, took everything coming to him. He's in for a big year.

I was really impressed with our new Scotsman, Murray Douglas, the guy is a beast, very aggressive and great in the contact. To all the 'locals only' guys, I challenge you to find someone better running around up here right now. Yep there maybe guys that'll be good in the future, but right now, he's our best fit.

Out wide Tamati Tua and Matty Wright had solid matches, as did Rene Ranger after a bit of a shaky start. Sam Nock better be ready for a lot of minutes this year, as under him I'm not sure about Macleod, I would have preferred Matt Markwick there..

Our two first fives had decent games too, Hawkins was solid in the first 40, and Breen was solid in the 2nd. Breen takes the battle by a whisker though..

Other mentions go out to the like of Mike Faleafa, Namatahi Waa, Matt Matich, Jack Ram, Blake Hohaia and Kara Pryor, all were right in the thick of it. Faleafa made some brutal runs.

Tactically we were far more efficient than Harbour, our outside-in defence choked them all day and they had no answers. Their tries were opportunist, and came from our errors.

For them I thought Volavola was their best. Former Taniwha Shane Neville played ok too, not a bad effort.

@bayimports good luck to your boys tomorrow mate. Hope you do it for the non super based provinces! Up the Bay!

@Steven-Harris great to catch up today!

Today was such a contrast to last weeks match, for me the huge difference was the fact Harbour had the likes of Li, Duffy, Stevenson and Parsons back in their lineup. Those guys made a huge difference for them. On today's evidence they should make a reasonable impact on the Premiership.

For Northland, as Steve said, we started well enough. I thought we were going to give them a torrid time as we had them camped in their territory for the first 20 odd minutes.

From there it came unstuck, we were trying too much and seemed to be kicking possession away way too much.

My thoughts on good performances echo Steves, so no need to delve into that side of things.

I still think with a 10 day break we'll put the Steamers to the sword come Sunday, I like the look of this squad, and with three quality players still to arrive I think we'll be humming!

Very important we start well here. If we do get off to a good start our bench looks far stronger and way more experienced than theirs, so we should finish stronger..

Key word - should! If there's any one team that makes debutants look good it's us.

Tough to narrow three this week. Robinson, Goodhue and Matich for me.

Close calls to Jacobsen, Douglas and Olsen.

The backs to stand out were Nock and Ranger for me. Thought Kitto added value off the bench. Blessed to have two good 9’s this year.