Highlanders 2025
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Highlanders offered Tanigtau a starting jersey to get him to sign with the Highlanders. He's definitely repaying the faith.
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-simple-highlanders-offer-caleb-tangitau-couldnt-refuse/
@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2025:
Highlanders offered Tanigtau a starting jersey to get him to sign with the Highlanders. He's definitely repaying the faith.
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-simple-highlanders-offer-caleb-tangitau-couldnt-refuse/
Offering him a starting spot and Manson a guaranteed bench spot. Our negotiators are on to something!
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2025:
Highlanders offered Tanigtau a starting jersey to get him to sign with the Highlanders. He's definitely repaying the faith.
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-simple-highlanders-offer-caleb-tangitau-couldnt-refuse/
Offering him a starting spot and Manson a guaranteed bench spot. Our negotiators are on to something!
@Landers92 said in Highlanders 2025:
@Canes4life said in Highlanders 2025:
Highlanders offered Tanigtau a starting jersey to get him to sign with the Highlanders. He's definitely repaying the faith.
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-simple-highlanders-offer-caleb-tangitau-couldnt-refuse/
Offering him a starting spot and Manson a guaranteed bench spot. Our negotiators are on to something
Except Manson didn't last long.
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whats was everyone elses thoughts on Mason? i was happy enough with his attacking intent, maybe i missed somehting
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whats was everyone elses thoughts on Mason? i was happy enough with his attacking intent, maybe i missed somehting
@Kiwiwomble Just not at the level of the others ahead of him at the moment. Defensively out of position etc. Good thing about that is it’s all teachable stuff. Looks to be a decent player with a few work ons, here’s hoping he continues on the upward trajectory.
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@Kiwiwomble Just not at the level of the others ahead of him at the moment. Defensively out of position etc. Good thing about that is it’s all teachable stuff. Looks to be a decent player with a few work ons, here’s hoping he continues on the upward trajectory.
@Landers92 not even when we had gilbert on the wing?
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@Landers92 not even when we had gilbert on the wing?
@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2025:
@Landers92 not even when we had gilbert on the wing?
Funnily enough, that was Gilbert’s best game
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Manson has played the way you'd expect of a guy at his first year at this level. Which is the key thing to remember. It is his first time playing at this level.
The good thing, like Hurley is his points of difference look like he can not just compete but stand out.
It is just as @Landers92 mentions. The small plays. I expect he will look really good at NPC level. Then step up again and be ready next year to push for a consistent starting spot.
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@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2025:
@Landers92 not even when we had gilbert on the wing?
Funnily enough, that was Gilbert’s best game
@Landers92 said in Highlanders 2025:
@Kiwiwomble said in Highlanders 2025:
@Landers92 not even when we had gilbert on the wing?
Funnily enough, that was Gilbert’s best game
im definitely seeing different things to other, and maybe im wrong
Gilberts always had pretty good positional play i think...but if once he's received it he runs straight back and turns it over...it kind of undermines the good he did
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This season has just reaffirmed that Gilbert is just an ok player. He is your perfect squad player. However, we have had several injuries that have meant hebhad played a lot more minutes than we would have hoped.
I also agree that his best game was the one he played on the wing.
Last week he did some good things. But as well as Robinson, he was terrible under the high ball and it was regularly exploited.
He's pretty resilient. Doesn't get injured a lot.
He is the guy who won't lose a game. But, will never win a game either. Everything good he does, you'd expect most half decent players in that position to do as well. You'd never see him do something and go wow, no other player in the comp can pull that off like Sam Gilbert.
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Haig playing number eight for Green Island tomorrow, so that's another one who should be back for next week... win this week, take full points next week, and we are back in the running I reckon.
@frugby said in Highlanders 2025:
Haig playing number eight for Green Island tomorrow, so that's another one who should be back for next week... win this week, take full points next week, and we are back in the running I reckon.
Few names in that game. Tai Cribb at lock and Jake Te Hiwi at 12 for GI. Kaikorai have Hayden Michaels at 8 and Dylan Pledger at 10, they also have Gregor Rutledge on the bench.
Taieri with Jack Sexton at prop, Cam Millar at 10, Matt Whaanga 13 and Josh Whaanga 14, JRK at 15. AU do have Fakatava but it could be a long day for them.
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Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
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Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
@SouthernMann Their biggest who played for the Waratahs is playing club footy in Christchurch this weekend. Wonder what went wrong there… wonder if that Harbour Hawks bloke in here can give us the details
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@SouthernMann Their biggest who played for the Waratahs is playing club footy in Christchurch this weekend. Wonder what went wrong there… wonder if that Harbour Hawks bloke in here can give us the details
@Landers92 said in Highlanders 2025:
@SouthernMann Their biggest who played for the Waratahs is playing club footy in Christchurch this weekend. Wonder what went wrong there… wonder if that Harbour Hawks bloke in here can give us the details
I think I've seen photos of him in Crusaders WTG pictures.
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Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2025:
Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
Kaik's 10 has broken his hand, so he's had to shift there...
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@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2025:
Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
Kaik's 10 has broken his hand, so he's had to shift there...
@frugby said in Highlanders 2025:
@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2025:
Kaik running Pledger at is interesting. I'd prefer he stays at halfback. Probably just Kaik fitting him in and utilising his skillset.
Mika Muliaina also getting his first run at 10 for Uni today.
Harbour fairly stacked with imports.
Kaik's 10 has broken his hand, so he's had to shift there...
Which is fair. Especially if he is only going to play a couple of games before going to NZ U20s
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First game I've turned off for the year. Shithouse
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First game I've turned off for the year. Shithouse
@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2025:
First game I've turned off for the year. Shithouse
Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be able to draw plenty of positives from it. The experience will be vital for our inexperienced players against the Drua next week…
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Same players, same shit performance... Jamie Joseph has to take a portion of the blame for this.
We've ultimately gone into the year with just two locks, and their form is now faltering, because they have not been properly rotated.
We've gone into the season with Broughton (Too small), Renton (Too slow) & Stodart (Not rated seemingly) as number eight options, which has failed us, so we are now stuck with playing two openside flankers, which has very rarely been a successful strategy for any team above NPC level. If you have two All Blacks, maybe, but neither Withy nor Lasaqa are anywhere near a black jersey.
At first five, he's been purely stubborn with Taine Robinson, who started well, but his form has faded with the team's. Millar has been fit for the past two weeks, but they decided against taking him to Australia. Is he perfect? No, but he does at least have the ability to control a game with his boot, so it means will be dropping it in the 22, rather than on halfway.
The rest of the backs have generally been good, and at fullback, I maintain his hands are tied behind his back with JRK ruled out, because frankly every other option has showed their limitations.
Barring a miracle turnaround, our season is over - I want sweeping changes next week.
