Northland vs Auckland
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Someone tackle that Taniwha mascot. Calling @WillieTheWaiter
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Great 2nd half where everybody stood up. Akira showed his class just when he was getting written off (myself included) which really shows the character of the man as he has been played into the ground this year but still finds a way to get back up and mark his presence. Lemalu I felt made a huge difference to our rolling maul defence as he's a real nuisance in there. Fukofuka was my MOTM. He's been outstanding so far especially with that try he set up for Nanai. Rayasi, Manu and Plummer also were impressive in the backline and Gibson continued to tackle all day. We probably won't go all the way in this comp, but great to see them playing with a bit of pride after a disasterous 2017.
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Anyone else suspect that if the young Umaga turns out to be good enough he will stay and have a crack at the ABs.
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What's really encouraging is how organised the team looks on both attack and defense despite not a huge amount of experience.
Especially in the backline, which is very young, these guys are having to learn on the job and are making a decent fist of it and clearly look well drilled. You'd have to think coaching is playing a huge part in all of this. You'd have to think this much more beneficial for their development than being stuck on the bench whilst an 'experienced' (journeyman) player starts in front of them.
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A bit of a breakdown of each player after seeing the game again.
Outside Backs: Rayasi and Nanai were constant threats throughout the game. Unlike last year, our wingers are getting put into space this year.
Trainor was a bit rocks and diamonds - needs to clean up those simple mistakes.
Midfield: Solid all round games from Faiane and Manu. Manu looks to have a real knack over the ball. Looking forward to his match-up with Tupaea on Thursday.
Halves: Fukofuka had a near faultless game again. His speed of delivery and accuracy helps everyone, especially Plummer. A couple of sweet try assists by him.
Plummer had a good game, particularly with ball in hand and on defense. Did a great job of staying in support to score after Nanai made the break as a Taniwha player was holding him back - usually guys tend to give up and try to get the refs attention when that happens, but he persisted. A few errors and a few kicks by him weren't ideal, but nonetheless, it was a solid performance.
Backrow: Papalii! Looked like another man of the match performance from him. Defensively, he's about as good as anyone at the moment.
Gibson wasn't too far behind Papali'i with his performance. One aspect of Gibson's game that seems to have improved this season is his ball carrying in the tight.
Akira had a quiet 1st half but had a much better 2nd half. Had some nice turnovers when Northland were hot on attack. If Papali'i and Gibson are healthy, Akira will get a bit more help at the Blues next year.
Locks: Lemalu had a solid debut - we look a bit stauncher in the tight with him out there.
Whetton was really good. I didn't really notice how good he was live, but with a second look, he had a man of the match type of game.
Can't really ask for much more from our 4th and 5th string locks.
Frontrow: Renata was a welcomed addition this week - was solid in the scrum and busy on defense.
Prattley wasn't as visible around the park but held his own in the scrum.
Abel had a couple of throws that might've been under thrown early, but Northland might've read the plays well too, either way, he settled down after that and wasn't too bad around the park.
Bench: Nothing notable from the bench outside of Sosene killing Debreczeni.
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@gunner said in Northland vs Auckland:
Fuck a duck, Northland were hopeless.
Plenty of ball in the first half but couldn’t do much with it.
Second half, why’d they even bother coming out of the sheds.Made an ‘Average Joe’ Auckland side look like world beaters.
Average Joe is a bit harsh, it’s a young side but there is plenty of talent.
In the second half Auckland played well and dictated what Northland could do.
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@kirwan said in Northland vs Auckland:
@gunner said in Northland vs Auckland:
Fuck a duck, Northland were hopeless.
Plenty of ball in the first half but couldn’t do much with it.
Second half, why’d they even bother coming out of the sheds.Made an ‘Average Joe’ Auckland side look like world beaters.
Average Joe is a bit harsh, it’s a young side but there is plenty of talent.
In the second half Auckland played well and dictated what Northland could do.
I was possibly a bit harsh on the Taniwha and not giving Auckland enough credit, but I’ve come to expect a lot better from us over the last couple of years.
Hopefully the lads bounce back and put in a good performance next week.
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@kiwimurph said in Northland vs Auckland:
What's really encouraging is how organised the team looks on both attack and defense despite not a huge amount of experience.
Especially in the backline, which is very young, these guys are having to learn on the job and are making a decent fist of it and clearly look well drilled. You'd have to think coaching is playing a huge part in all of this. You'd have to think this much more beneficial for their development than being stuck on the bench whilst an 'experienced' (journeyman) player starts in front of them.
Ted and Lavea have been massive additions to the coaching group.
Ted's done a great job with the defense so far. We lead the comp by quite a bit with the least amount of missed tackles(16) and have the best tackle completion percentage(94%). Line speed has been fast and consistent throughout the games. We haven't faced any rock star attacking teams, but it's still nice to see.
Our attack looks far more threatening with Lavea in charge. We're not over-reliant on individualism like the past two seasons. We're making a lot of linebreaks, putting players into space and creating plenty of scoring chances. We still could polish thing ups though, but it's a good start.
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@dice said in Northland vs Auckland:
@kiwimurph said in Northland vs Auckland:
What's really encouraging is how organised the team looks on both attack and defense despite not a huge amount of experience.
Especially in the backline, which is very young, these guys are having to learn on the job and are making a decent fist of it and clearly look well drilled. You'd have to think coaching is playing a huge part in all of this. You'd have to think this much more beneficial for their development than being stuck on the bench whilst an 'experienced' (journeyman) player starts in front of them.
Ted and Lavea have been massive additions to the coaching group.
Ted's done a great job with the defense so far. We lead the comp by quite a bit with the least amount of missed tackles(16) and have the best tackle completion percentage(94%). Line speed has been fast and consistent throughout the games. We haven't faced any rock star attacking teams, but it's still nice to see.
Our attack looks far more threatening with Lavea in charge. We're not over-reliant on individualism like the past two seasons. We're making a lot of linebreaks, putting players into space and creating plenty of scoring chances. We still could polish thing ups though, but it's a good start.
Remember we got thrashed by non rock star teams last year, so this has been a massive improvement
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@taniwharugby Ted was in the coaching box and by all accounts read the riot act at halftime.
@Dice Well put. It's amazing what some quality coaching (and selection) can do. It's very refreshing after the bumbling Blues and Nick White's previous 2 Auckland campaigns.
For all the loud noises about Akira not being involved enough (coming from Jeff Wilson who was a failure as a coach himself...) I quite like that he is able to pick his spots in attack a bit more and not have the whole attack go through him. It's working much better.
