Northland 2025
-
Northland side to face Counties in the pre-season match tomorrow.
Good to see Nichols named, hadn't seem him named in club footy this year.
Good chance for a new newbies to lay a marker.
-
@taniwharugby very young side for that game. Hard to get a reading from that. Presume another preseason game?
-
Northland side to face Auckland in Mahurangi on Thursday
-
Not a good afternoon, going down 52-7...yikes
Side Auckland named looked pretty good, but still
-
@taniwharugby said in Northland 2025:
Not a good afternoon, going down 52-7...yikes
Side Auckland named looked pretty good, but still
Shit! Suggests they are focussed on something else….i hope
-
Our starting pack should be pretty competitive with most, although not sure who our best props will be, but our backs will be pretty green outside the starting guys, which could be a great thing.
Renata, Apoua & CTC all competing for the TH spot, while have to think Lay has the inside running for LH with Fono backing him up.
Matt Moulds surely has the starting hooker role, although heard he was poor defensively the other night, hopefully Mullen can pressure him and even Hutchings gets a decent shake this year.
Lock, I expect Craig to shoulder most of the starts, probably alongside Caird, with LHE backing up, although I think Lachie Hooper can play lock and has impressed in his pre-season matches.
Loose forward will be interesting, with Parker out, I expect Rush at 8, Peita at 6 and Heenan at 7, with both Peita and Hennan standing out in pre-season, Hooper off the bench.
Nock and Reihana to start, not sure who will back up for Nock, Murphy or Renton, while we are thin for 10 with only Jade Stewart in the squad.
Mid-field, Evans and Nichols would be my thinking, with the other 3 all uncapped, and Pasitoa has not impressed in the pre-season, so I'd be inclined to give the bench spot to Reuben Stewart who can play FB as well.
On the wing, with Salmon injured, I expect one of Trainor or Alaimalo to push from FB to the wing and Brady Rush to get another chance on the other wing.
Inc the bench, the match next week will see at least 8 players get thier 1st cap I reckon.
-
@taniwharugby what’s up with Parker? Ankle? That’s a big loss - are they expecting him to play this season…
-
I think the NRU has done well to put some half decent looking squads together in the last few seasons
But i'm thinking they've underachieved
That's got to be disappointing to the NRU
What do other Taniwha supporters think?I'm not close to the squad; but i'm thinking the team culture might be "to good"
If you know what i mean . . .Not saying that this squad could win the comp; but if I was in it, I wouldn't be happy if we didn't go at least 50/50
-
Our squad is pretty good if they stay healthy. With Nock & Reihana we probably have one of the more experienced halves combos in the comp.
Excited to see how the two Aussies Hooper & Pasitoa go.
Hard to establish a good culture when you have a revolving door at coach unfortunately.
-
@hikastags said in Northland 2025:
Excited to see how the two Aussies Hooper & Pasitoa go.
on pre-season matches, one has gone very well, the other, less so....
IMO, we have largely underachieved, sadly there seems to be an acceptance of mediocrity over the years when it seems some are just content with not coming last (I'm talking at Management/Board level)
We are attracting quality players back, with the likes of Parker, Evans, Renata, Heenan et al, and by all accounts almost got Beehre back too, getting players in Super squads, but need to build on this and get some actual success on the park.
A Shield win on Saturday would be a monumental start to the season, but against a quality looking 'naki squad, that is a tall order...
In saying that, we have beaten them in Taranaki 2 of their last 3 meetign in Taranaki, but those 3 games go from 2022 to 2010, and the win/loss pattern says they will win this one, comfortably.
-
@taniwharugby which one has gone well? I haven’t been following pre-season. I saw we got pantsed by Auckland.
I’m not very optimistic about our shield chances. Taranaki have had better prep than any team coming into this season. I think the Naki have played 3/4 preseason games compared to everyone else’s 1 or 2.
-
@hikastags Hooper went very well.
Yeah I'm not confident either, but if we get off to a flyer, confidence can do funny things for a team!
-
Getting the training in....grounds were closed soon after...
-
I hear you on coaches; some of them have been quality, but they move on pretty quickly.
Fuck, I can just remember the end of Ted Griffin, and I took this from Google AI OverviewTed Griffin was a legendary and highly successful coach of North Auckland rugby, known for his tactical prowess, blunt style, and ability to inspire his teams, including famous players like Sid Going. He coached North Auckland for 21 years, achieving significant victories and capturing the public's imagination with exciting rugby.
Key aspects of Ted Griffin's North Auckland coaching career:
Longevity and Success:
Griffin coached North Auckland for 21 years, a remarkable tenure in rugby. During his time, the team won 127 of 213 matches, scoring 3219 points and conceding 2215.
Antagonism towards Auckland:
Griffin was known for his deep-seated antagonism towards the Auckland rugby team, and North Auckland achieved notable successes against their rivals under his leadership.
Tactical Acumen:
He was a skilled tactician and thinker of the game, with his teams well-prepared and known for pushing the tactical envelope, leading to memorable spectacles.
Memorable Victories:
His teams defeated touring sides like France, Fiji, Australia, New South Wales, and Tonga, and came very close to beating the Springboks and the British Lions.
Impact on Players:
Griffin played a significant role in the careers of notable players like Sid Going, whose attacking style he supported and allowed to flourish.
Legacy.
His legacy is cemented by his success and the excitement his teams generated, with packed crowds at both Rugby Park and Okara Park becoming common during his coaching tenure.AI is F’n good, couldn’t have summed him up any better.
He was actually around for 25 seasons (he spent four years in the national setup).
Just shows what you can do if you get the time.I’m thinking that currently the off-field culture is good, the issues are on-field
Like you say, the acceptance of mediocrity.
Taranaki in particular being something of indictment of Northland, with what must be similar resources, they have much more success. -
For 2025 I count:
14 SR players
1 Eng prem
1 pro italy
2 US MLR
the rest clubYou'd think they should be able to organise a few wins
A lot in Perth were talking up Pasitoa
But he has been injured, and barely played the past two seasons, the reason he was released I assume.
I think I have seen a team with him in it play, but I dont recall him, which is not a good sign!
If he shows some form in the NPC, I can see him possibly being back at the Force -
@mohikamo bit before my time...
I think in recent times, Whitcombe was making some good progress before heading off shore for a stint.
Konia and Dewes were.kept at the helm far too long, I am not sure why, but Konia a former mid fielder struggled to get much out of Scott Gregory, Tamati Tua, a couple of young talents....sure, they may have also been the problem, it he also persisted with Blake Hohaia who was constantly found wanting at NPC level...I felt Konia was like Fozzie in that he was a nice guy but too easy on players
From what I heard of Dewes, he had very little interest in developing players...he seemed to be a very good coach, our technical skills under him were good but he did nothing for some young props around the region.
I think Taranaki is probably not the best to compare, they are a much more.wealthy province, I'd liken us to HB, Southland and to a lesser extent, Ta$man...all of whom have had more success over the past decade or more than us.
Anywhoo, I think our top 23 will be competitive, has potential to be a top 4 team, but as always squad depth will be an issue, but with the young club players they have included this year, I'd like to see us play some good rugby and if finals footy is the result, all the better.
A bit of luck early on, and who knows...
-
-
@taniwharugby getting high performance out of a squad is our challenge. We have a bigger crop of young players than ever before (vs journeymen) - and more SR experience. You have to think that a capable and settled coaching setup is what we need now to move us up the ranks.
