Championship Semi: Otago v Northland
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@Steven-Harris now that's a quality double!
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@Steven-Harris said in Championship Semi: Otago v Northland:
@KiwiMurph be a good road trip ..and a really fast drive back to Auckland to watch the Aucks win the Mitre 10 Cup ..
The Championship final is scheduled for Friday night, so any venue would need to have lights.
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@Bovidae , I understand that’s the issue , but you know when something like this happens , this is where the ability of an administration has the foresight to think outside the square and about the best interests of the community game or the parties involved but I guess when you have ignored the grassroots over the last 10-15 years and put all you energy into the All Blacks , your not gonna change your mindset anytime soon .
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Assuming Nock is out, I have no idea who the next cab off the ranks is?
Jayden Kemp was the starting 9 in the dev squad game a few weeks back, so assume would be him?? Don't know much about him.
Hopefully Cooper is ok too, been running the ship nicely, we scored 11 tries the past 3 games, up until then we had been struggling to get over the line.
I know I and plenty have been critical of selections, subbing this year tactics and lack of structure, but TBH the last couple of weeks something looks to have changed, while we still have some issues, these can be built on.
I said some weeks back I thought with the squad we have, making the semis was just par, making the finals was good.
Now we are there, I hope they can all go out and do themselves proud, they will need to step it up a few more levels to beat HB (assuming they beat naki) but they have some nice momentum now, so who knows.
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Got to say it’s the best I’ve seen josh goodhue play,he was into everything. Close behind I thought was Sam nock who has impressed this season
For otago I thought josh timu and umaga jenson both played very well and nareki looked very dangerous -
@taniwharugby Jayden Kemp was with the Taniwha squad last week , to be honest I have never seen him play ..personally I would pick Mac Sykes even though he has not been in the frame , I know he is fit , he’s running a marathon today , Dane Subritsky Clark is another who has got game ..it’s definitely gonna be interesting to watch ..see we can loan Bryn Hall from Harbour for a week
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Sorry if already asked but is the shield on the line if Hawkes win?
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@bayimports Nope. The Shield is never on the line in the finals.
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interesting couple of sentences in this article...in fact there was no mention at all of Nocks hammy, if only it was just some really bad cramp, but it didn't look good.
The only sour note for coach George Konia's side was the departure of No 10 Cooper midway through the second half.
The playmaker was still limping after the game and faces a race to be fit for the final against Taranaki or Hawke's Bay, with Northland hoping the Bulls can spring an upset to give them a home final.
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@taniwharugby ,have not heard anything at this stage , which I guess is good news , Johnny Cooper should be good to go , we are going to need both these guys on deck and not to mention what it will take is a level we have not reached this season .
The Otago win was a good win, but in all honesty we should have put them away more comfortably .
Really at the end of the day I only hope we can provide a much stiffer challenge especially after looking at yesterdays game and what a Taranaki team missing the Boshier brothers , Sean Wainui and Josh Lord offered up ,
don’t really know if it would have made a difference to be fair ..,buts that a lot of quality not to have on deck , they have had Tei Walden for a good part of the season as well. -
@Steven-Harris yea we will need to step up another couple of levels, Tua and Ranger will need to be on song, particularly as this is where I think HB are a bit vulnerable, naki made good metres there and wider when they ran it, but still kicked away what little they did have when they were still in the game.
While we have a good pack, I don't think we want to battle them up front.
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@taniwharugby only other concern is defensive capabilities of our 2 props , or at least one of them CTC..
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@Steven-Harris yeah most of our props are the weak links in our pack, in that thier fitness leaves alot to be desired which affects thier decision making and execution (penalties, defensive lapses, hands)
Kearns looks the fittest but he isnt the best scrummager, Wright is a good all rounder, but sometimes struggles at scrum time, Tuiloma looks the best scrummager but has poor hands, CTWC hits hard but misses some tackles and gets pinged too, but keeps trying despite looking very unfit, Li has had his good moments too
Our locks and loosies are quality, and that includes Matich and Jacobson who could start and wouldnt detract from our loosie quality.
But losing Nock is going to be a hammer blow, he has been excellent for us, and was outstanding v HB last time too in that losing effort.
Guess thats part of the problem when you have such a quality player, is the next guy spends most of the time on the bench, so Grant has had limited minutes, looked ok in his time out there on Friday, but before that he has struggled, particularly with his decision making.
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@taniwharugby depth is everything in this competition..when you think about it ..we have no training facility in terms of a high performance centre , no academy and no money , 13th on the table in terms of player budget..but we are in the final ..
I know many of those previously mentioned areas will be addressed over the next few years , and then and only then will it feel like we sitting at the table on level terms ..
I am predicting some exciting times ahead , but only if these are followed through , already hearing about a high profile back expressing interest in moving to Northland ..will keep this one under my hat, I have a family contact on this one .. -
@Steven-Harris yea the new HP centre on track to be open mid 2021, hopefully that helps keep and attract talent...I expect making a final helps that cause too.
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@taniwharugby said in Championship Semi: Otago v Northland:
@Steven-Harris yeah most of our props are the weak links in our pack, in that thier fitness leaves alot to be desired which affects thier decision making and execution (penalties, defensive lapses, hands)
A problem endemic to NZ rugby at the moment.
