All Blacks 2025
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@akan004 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Catching up with The Breakdown, Justin Marshall (Razor's mate) talking up Kyle Preston as an AB possibility. Not sure I see it.
Those clowns were still mentioning Finlay as a possible inclusion in the squad.
I watched that segment, funny that they hardly mentioned Roigard who you'd think is our number 1 going into the French tests, despite him not quite being at his best (yet).
Roigard and Ratima are locked in for me. I'm still not sold on Hotham.
Roigard and Ratima are very similar players, style wise, to me. Is that what the ABs will want on the bench? I am not sure.
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@akan004 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Catching up with The Breakdown, Justin Marshall (Razor's mate) talking up Kyle Preston as an AB possibility. Not sure I see it.
Those clowns were still mentioning Finlay as a possible inclusion in the squad.
I watched that segment, funny that they hardly mentioned Roigard who you'd think is our number 1 going into the French tests, despite him not quite being at his best (yet).
Roigard and Ratima are locked in for me. I'm still not sold on Hotham.
Roigard and Ratima are very similar players, style wise, to me. Is that what the ABs will want on the bench? I am not sure.
I'm not sure the selectors will be specifically taking into consideration your style of play, to be honest?
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@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@akan004 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Catching up with The Breakdown, Justin Marshall (Razor's mate) talking up Kyle Preston as an AB possibility. Not sure I see it.
Those clowns were still mentioning Finlay as a possible inclusion in the squad.
I watched that segment, funny that they hardly mentioned Roigard who you'd think is our number 1 going into the French tests, despite him not quite being at his best (yet).
Roigard and Ratima are locked in for me. I'm still not sold on Hotham.
Roigard and Ratima are very similar players, style wise, to me. Is that what the ABs will want on the bench? I am not sure.
I'm not sure the selectors will be specifically taking into consideration your style of play, to be honest?
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@akan004 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Catching up with The Breakdown, Justin Marshall (Razor's mate) talking up Kyle Preston as an AB possibility. Not sure I see it.
Those clowns were still mentioning Finlay as a possible inclusion in the squad.
I watched that segment, funny that they hardly mentioned Roigard who you'd think is our number 1 going into the French tests, despite him not quite being at his best (yet).
Roigard and Ratima are locked in for me. I'm still not sold on Hotham.
Roigard and Ratima are very similar players, style wise, to me. Is that what the ABs will want on the bench? I am not sure.
I'm not sure the selectors will be specifically taking into consideration your style of play, to be honest?
It can be a consideration. It has been at half back in the past.
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I'm not sold on any of them right now. Maybe I've just been spoiled by having Smith for so long, but the speed and accuracy of delivery from all candidates leaves a bit to be desired.
Roigard's running has been worse, so he comes back to the pack a lot, because his passing accuracy isn't that consistent. Fakatava is the best running halfback in the country so far this season to my eyes - he is picking his moments better and making more ground. Hotham probably the most active defender. Ratima the cleanest delivery but he's not a runner and is a less powerful defender.@reprobate
Yeah I have Roigard and Ratima 1 & 2 a horses for courses type selection for them.
Fakatava though is probably who I would want coming off the bench for impact.
So they are my top 3 atm
Holtham bubbling under just needs more time to learn his trade no need to rush him.
Under that we are well served for back ups: Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed. -
@reprobate
Yeah I have Roigard and Ratima 1 & 2 a horses for courses type selection for them.
Fakatava though is probably who I would want coming off the bench for impact.
So they are my top 3 atm
Holtham bubbling under just needs more time to learn his trade no need to rush him.
Under that we are well served for back ups: Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed. -
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
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Wings:
Tangitau - injured
Naholo - injured/leavingJordan - currently injured, should be available?
Telea - leaving
Reece - has been
This leaves:
Clarke
Narawa
IoaneAJ Lam is available.
Are Love or Stevenson possibilities? Leroy Carter?
Injuries to other players might prove fortunate for Telea and Reece.
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Wings:
Tangitau - injured
Naholo - injured/leavingJordan - currently injured, should be available?
Telea - leaving
Reece - has been
This leaves:
Clarke
Narawa
IoaneAJ Lam is available.
Are Love or Stevenson possibilities? Leroy Carter?
Injuries to other players might prove fortunate for Telea and Reece.
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Surely with JRK back from injury, he can leapfrog Fihaki in any of these discussions. His style would suit 14 for the ABs in my opinion
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@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project Player -
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project Player@No-Quarter let's wait and see, he's in the conversation.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project Player -
@reprobate
Yeah I have Roigard and Ratima 1 & 2 a horses for courses type selection for them.
Fakatava though is probably who I would want coming off the bench for impact.
So they are my top 3 atm
Holtham bubbling under just needs more time to learn his trade no need to rush him.
Under that we are well served for back ups: Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed.@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2025:
Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed.
In what world is Christie looking good?
He's been rightfully passed by Funaki now that Funaki is fit finally.
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@No-Quarter Roigard, is he locked in?,
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter Roigard, is he locked in?,
Yes. Razor is a gigantic Roigard fan. Assuming he's fit Roigard is one of the safest bets there is in the whole squad
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@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2025:
Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed.
In what world is Christie looking good?
He's been rightfully passed by Funaki now that Funaki is fit finally.
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2025:
Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed.
In what world is Christie looking good?
He's been rightfully passed by Funaki now that Funaki is fit finally.
In Fozzieworld he's still good. Still shake my head that Roigard could have been RWC23s Nehe Milne Skudder (new kid who tears it up) and he went for the ginger instead
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2025:
Christie, Preston and Hastie looking good so I don't see 9 as the weakness I thought it would be after Smith departed.
In what world is Christie looking good?
He's been rightfully passed by Funaki now that Funaki is fit finally.
In Fozzieworld he's still good. Still shake my head that Roigard could have been RWC23s Nehe Milne Skudder (new kid who tears it up) and he went for the ginger instead
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project Player@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
He doesn't need to peak now. Cam seems to be building slowly
